Family Tree
by Kaidan's Quill
Summary: ***Completed*** During his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry discovers a secret about his mother's family. A secret which everyone has been trying to hide, but is now revelaing itself. Please review!
1. The Assignment

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling. There I've said my piece; please don't sue unless you really want the lint that lines my pockets.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter One: The Assignment  
  
Harry Potter was falling asleep again. He was stuck in the middle of his History of Magic class, listening to one of Professor Binns' less than stimulating lectures. Today's lesson of boredom was on the family lineage of some of the more famous wizards and witches. Harry suppressed a yawn, although not very well, and looked around the room. Sitting beside him, Harry's best friend Ron Weasley had given up struggling against sleep and was dozing lightly with his head propped up on his elbow, and a drop of drool forming on the corner of his mouth. Most of the other students in the classroom were in the same state as Ron, or close to it. Even Hermione seemed less than enthralled by today's lesson.   
  
Harry slumped back in his chair and allowed himself to get lost in his own thoughts. Everyone was on edge since Voldemort had returned to power only a few months earlier. Although there hadn't been any sightings of him or any deaths that anyone could attribute to him or any other Death Eater, many feared there soon would be. Harry on the other hand was not as worried, which was ironic, as he had the most to fear. Harry reached up and touched his scar, something he had been doing almost constantly since the night of the Triwizard Tournament. Chills still ran through him every time he remembered that night, and the pain associated with it. Ever since the tournament Harry had expected to feel that familiar pain in his head, but never did. Harry took this to mean that Voldemort hadn't increased his powers yet or was lying low. At least Harry liked to think this was the reason.   
  
"…and that concludes the lineage of Sir Elwood the short-toed knight." Professor Binns' voice brought Harry back to the present. He nudged Ron who stirred and lazily opened his eyes.   
  
Professor Binns continued, "For homework I would like each of you to come up with your own family tree and present it to the class two weeks from today. Class is dismissed."  
  
Harry along with his other classmates gathered his belongings and headed for the door. A family tree? Harry thought. How am I going to do a family tree? He was so preoccupied with this thought that he ran into a first year girl as he stepped into the hall. His books as well as the girl went falling to the floor. "I'm so sorry." Harry said, offering his hand to help her up. The girl started to take his hand until she saw who offered it. Seeing that it was Harry who stood before her, she quickly withdrew her hand and ran over to her group of friends who were all whispering nervously.  
  
Harry stood there for a few moments staring at the wall. This type of reaction to him happened a lot since the Triwizard Tournament, but it took him by surprise every time. He understood why people were nervous around him, and why some even feared him. If Harry knew someone who was a beacon for Voldemort, he'd probably be a little weary around him also, but that didn't take the sting out of watching people run away from him. He heard Hermione and Ron come up behind him, Hermione put a hand on his shoulder and Ron picked up Harry's books.   
  
"Don't mind her Harry." Hermione said. "You know first years are always a little jumpy."  
  
"Its ok, I'm used to it." Harry said. He took his books from Ron, "It really doesn't bother me anymore." he lied.  
  
Sensing the tense moment Ron searched his mind for something to break the silence following Harry's statement (which both he and Hermione knew was a lie). Unfortunately all that he could come up with was...  
  
"So, what do you all think about this family tree assignment? "  
  
Hermione glared at him, motioning her head towards Harry with a "now-is-not-a-good-time" look.   
  
Ron got the hint. He hadn't thought about how hard the assignment was going to be for Harry. Besides the fact that both his parents were dead, his only living relatives, the Dursleys, would certainly not help Harry trace down his family history. Especially if they knew it was an assignment for Hogwarts.   
  
Harry had also seen Hermione's glare at Ron. "It's okay," said Harry interrupting Ron's attempts to change the subject, "I know that finding out anything about my family history is going to be hard, but I am actually looking forward to doing a family tree. Maybe Siri- err- Snuffles can help me out."   
  
"Good idea." Hermione said.   
  
Harry thought it was a good idea. He was actually excited by the thought of maybe finding out some information about his family and was surprised that he hadn't thought about it before.  
  
*******  
  
Harry's excitement soon faded because after two weeks he still wasn't any closer to even starting his family tree. It wasn't as if he hadn't tried. He had looked through what few pictures he had of his parents, but found nothing. He had thought about talking to Dumbledore and seeing if he knew anything about his family, but Dumbledore had seem too preoccupied as of late to talk to. His biggest disappointment was that because of a freak course of stormy weather, they weren't allowed to send owls out. This meant that Harry hadn't been able to contact Sirius.   
  
"I'm almost to the point of writing to the Dursleys and asking Aunt Petunia about my family. Not that she would bother to reply..." Harry said voicing his concerns to Ron and Hermione during dinner.  
  
"Don't let it get to you Harry, you'll find something." Ron said  
  
"It's due tomorrow, Ron" Harry said looking up from his plate.  
  
"You could always go to Professor Binns and explain the situation." Hermione added.  
  
"What's wrong Harry? Can't find anyone in your family that is still alive?" said a sly voice from the Slytherin table.   
  
Harry knew the owner of the voice without even looking.  
  
"Shut up Malfoy." Ron said through a mouthful of potatoes.  
  
"Just ignore him." Hermione said to Harry.  
  
Ron swallowed and then added, "You have it easy Draco, to find your closest relatives you just have to look under a rock or wallow around in the mud."  
  
Draco's ears turned bright red, which made his blond hair stand out even more. Draco then turned to Harry, "Well at least they're all alive, everyone around you seems to die, right Potter?"  
  
Harry felt a rush of blood flow to his cheeks and tried to conceal a wave of fury that swept over him, "Go to hell Malfoy."   
  
"All right, Potter" Malfoy hissed, "I'll be sure to tell your mum hi."  
  
Harry felt another wave of anger that could not be suppressed and slammed his fists on the table. Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Gryffindor table paused. They all stared at Harry wondering what he was going to do. He got to his feet and walked over to the Slytherin table.  
  
"Take that back Malfoy!" Harry said between clenched teeth.  
  
"Why? Did I hurt poor little Potter's feelings?" Draco said mockingly. He then turn back to his food and added "Go frighten some small children, isn't that what your good at? Scaring people?" Draco got a few laughs from his fellow Slytherins at the table.  
  
Harry was furious and with out thinking, pushed Draco's head into his plate of food. This time the laughs came from the Gryffindor table. Draco wiped his face with the sleeve of his robe and looked at Harry furiously. He was quite a sight standing there with his now red face dripping with gravy. Once Draco retained his composure he walked up to Harry and shoved him backwards into his own table.   
  
"Stand up, Potter!" Draco shouted with wand raised.  
  
Harry grimaced and rubbed his lower back which had just encountered the back of a chair. Harry looked up at Draco's raised wand. If it was fight Draco wanted, then a fight he would get.  
  
"I said stand up!" Draco repeated, this time gesturing with his wand.  
  
Harry stood up and approached Draco and aimed his wand at him. Draco and Harry were now no more then a couple of feet apart. Harry tried to quickly think of a curse bad enough to put on Draco. Finally he came up with something perfect for Draco, something he knew Draco desperately deserved. Draco opened his mouth to begin the duel, but before Draco could get a word out, Harry let his wand fall out of his hand, and made his hand into a fist. Before he knew it, Harry felt his hand encounter Draco's face, specifically his nose. There were immediate cheers from the Gryffindor table as Draco stumbled back shocked and holding his bloody nose. Harry's hand hurt like hell but he wasn't going to let Malfoy see it. The hoorahs quieted down as Professor Snape came in. He didn't even ask for an explanation. All that Snape needed to see was Draco's bloody nose and Harry beside him to come to a conclusion.  
  
"FIFTY POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR, AND DETENTION FOR YOU, POTTER!" Snape screamed at Harry.  
  
Harry didn't even try to fight the punishment; he knew it wouldn't work anyway. He picked up his wand and walked out of the room, paying no attention to Ron who was smiling broadly at the fact that Draco Malfoy was bleeding.  
  
As he was still furious at Malfoy and Snape, plus the fact that he still did not have a family tree to present the next day, Harry found it impossible to sleep. Around midnight Harry crawled from his bed and opened his trunk. Harry pulled out the picture album of his parents. Looking at the pictures of his parents at their wedding always made Harry feel happy and sad at the same time. Although he had studied the pictures numerous times, this time something caught his eye. He looked closer and beside the picture of a younger Sirius there was a young woman he hadn't noticed before. She had her back to the camera and looked as if she was chatting to someone. Harry looked peered closer at the picture until the tip of his nose touched it. Suddenly the woman turned around and looked at Harry dead on. Ahh! Harry yelled and threw himself back so far that he and the book fell off the bed and landed with a thump on the floor. On his back, Harry looked around and realized, thankfully, that no one had witnessed his fall.   
  
"Stupid." Harry said to himself. He was used to seeing people in pictures move around, but this was different. There was something about her eyes, something odd, and yet something familiar. Harry picked up the book and stared back at the picture, but it was the same as it always had been. The woman's back was towards him again. "I need some sleep." Harry said aloud and closed the book. However, there was something sticking up on the inside corner of the cover. "Great." Harry thought, "I broke it." Upon closer inspection he found that it wasn't broken, but there was a little piece of parchment sticking up from the corner. Harry pulled and pulled on it gently until he held a decent sized sheet of parchment in his hand. He unfolded it and his green eyes grew large. Harry realized he was holding a Potter family tree.  
  
"Wow." Harry whispered. It was a beautiful rendering of the branches of a tree and it had all the names of his family going all the way up to his great great grandparents, Robert Potter and Sarah Grey. As Harry looked over it, he realized that he only held a section of the entire tree (the corners were torn and some of the names were cut off), but Harry thought what he had was incredible. Harry read it over in amazement, starting at the top he traced his father's family line, but stopped at his parents' names. Harry frowned; he had never realized that they had been so young when they died. Harry then started to read down his mother's lineage. He then saw something that made his heart beat faster, "Oh my god." he said aloud, "oh my god."  
  
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This is my first fan fic. How am I doing? Please review, so I know if I should continue or just leave the story to run amuck in my head. :) 


	2. Revelations

Chapter Two: Revelations  
  
Harry closed his eyes and opened them again hoping what he saw would be there when he opened them again. It was. Right next to the names "Lily Evans" and "Petunia Evans" was the name "Selene Evans." Harry had another aunt. What made Harry almost fall over was the fact that there was no death date under her name. A multitude of questions ran through Harry's mind: Is this true? Why didn't anyone tell me? Why hasn't she contacted me?   
  
Convinced that he was going to explode if he didn't tell anyone, Harry ran over to Ron's bed and shook him awake. It took longer than Harry expected, but after a little swearing and some random punches at Harry, Ron was finally awake.  
  
"Harry? What time is it?" Ron said sluggishly.  
  
"It's after midnight. Ron you've got to see what I've found! You won't believe it! I don't believe it! It just fell right out, and I was looking at it and BAM I saw it, saw her name!" Harry said all this very fast while brandishing his family tree at Ron.  
  
"Harry, calm down and take a breath. What is this thing you're waving in my face?" Ron said pointing to the family tree.  
  
Harry took a deep breath and told his story again, and Ron's eyes grew big as he took the tree from Harry's hand and examined it.  
  
"Wow Harry this is weird. What a coincidence, I mean you needing it by tomorrow and here it is." Ron said, "to think if you hadn't fallen off your bed, you might never have found it."  
  
"I guess you're right." Harry said picking up the picture album and flipping through it.   
  
"Who do you think that woman in the picture is? Do you think its Selene Evans?" Ron asked nodding toward the book.  
  
Ron had picked up on exactly what Harry had been thinking. "I don't know," he said. " It could be her or just some random party guest." Harry said.  
  
Ron interrupted his thoughts; "Well you definitely won't have to worry about Binns' class tomorrow. This is a pretty impressive tree. It has birth dates and death dates along with occupations and...." Ron's voice trailed off.  
  
"What?" Harry asked.  
  
"Um..." Ron responded.  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked again.  
  
"Um.... Well.... I'm not sure but..." Ron said. "We need to talk to Hermione. Yeah, she'd know."  
  
"Now?" Harry asked looking at his clock, which read 12:51.  
  
"Yeah, grab your invisibility cloak and let's go." Ron said.  
  
Harry complied and after they had pulled on some actual clothes they grabbed the tree, the invisibility cloak, and the Marauder's' map and headed off towards the girls' dormitory. They stopped right outside the door and looked at the map.   
  
"Hermione's the third bed to the left." Harry said  
  
They both looked at each other before entering. "We could get into big trouble doing this." Ron said.  
  
"Us? Trouble? Now that's something new and different." Harry said sarcastically.  
  
Ron nodded and they entered the girls' rooms. They were a lot like the boys' room except for the feminine flare. Even if they had not had the Marauder's' map they could have easily picked out Hermione's bed. This is because her trunk and the floor around it were covered with stacks of books and parchment. They approached her bed and saw that she was sound asleep even though the occupants of the beds beside her were snoring.   
  
"She's going to kill us." Ron whispered.  
  
"Yes, she is." Harry agreed, "and it won't be a pleasant death either."  
  
Harry could feel Ron shrug under the invisibility cloak and move to wake Hermione.  
  
"Wait. Should we take the cloak off first?" Harry asked.  
  
"Nah. Seeing us standing over her bed might scare her. Besides, she can't hit what she can't see." Ron replied.  
  
Harry had to admit that he had a point. Ron reached his hand out from underneath the cloak to wake Hermione and withdrew. "She seems different when she's asleep." he said.  
  
"That's because she's quiet." Harry said, "Hurry up," he added looking around at all the Viktor Krum and Gildroy Lockheart posters on the walls, "this place gives me the creeps."  
  
Ron reached down and lightly tapped Hermione's shoulder. He then recoiled quickly like he had just stuck his hand in a snake pit. Hermione, however, didn't move.  
  
"Try again." Harry said  
  
Ron tapped her a little harder and jumped back again. She still didn't move. Ron tried again, this time poking her rather hard. Hermione opened her eyes and saw a floating hand near her shoulder. She looked like she was going to scream, so Harry put his hand over her mouth.   
  
"Sssh!" Harry said, "It's us." He then pulled the cloak off of him and Ron. Hermione's expression turned from fear to anger.  
  
"What are you two doing in here?" she demanded.  
  
"We need to ask you something." Ron said.  
  
"Couldn't it wait till morning?" Hermione said gathering her sheets around her.   
  
"No." Ron said. Hermione looked at him doubtfully. "Well yes," he admitted "but please help us, Hermione."   
  
"Oh all right." she said, "You two get out of here and I'll meet you downstairs."  
  
************  
  
Harry and Ron waited for a good ten minutes before Hermione came down looking much different than before. She had her hair pulled back and a red robe on. Ron thought the lack of sleep might be getting to him because she looked, well, pretty.   
  
"So what's the big emergency?" she asked sitting down next to them at one of the tables in the common room.   
  
Harry and Ron told the whole story again from Harry falling off the bed (which Ron told two maybe three times more than Harry thought was needed) right up to Ron urging Harry to go wake up Hermione (that part Harry told, making Ron blush).  
  
Hermione had been very interested in the conversation and was now looking over the tree with great interest. "So what did you want to ask me?" Hermione asked Ron.  
  
"Well…you see I was looking at Harry's great great grandmother's name, Abigail Evans, and I noticed this symbol by her name, is that what I think it is?" Ron asked Hermione.  
  
Hermione looked closer and the parchment, "I think it is Ron." Hermione said and both she and Ron looked up at Harry.  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"  
  
"Harry, your great great grandmother was a magmanos." Hermione said.  
  
"A what?" Harry asked  
  
"A magmanos is a witch or a wizard that can perform magic without using a wand." Hermione said.  
  
"I thought that was impossible." Harry said.  
  
"Well it doesn't happen very often, and when a magmanos is discovered it is a very big deal." Hermione said.  
  
"If it is such a big deal than why haven't I heard anything about it?" Harry asked.  
  
Hermione and Ron looked at each other. "Well…. being a magmanos isn't necessarily a good thing…" Ron said.   
  
"Why not?" Harry asked.  
  
"Its kind of like being a werewolf." Hermione said, "People are afraid of them. Magmani are powerful and since they don't need a wand, they are able to perform magic anytime and anywhere. Hold on a second." Hermione added then ran up to her room. Not even a full two minutes had passed when Hermione came back down the stairs carrying a rather large book. She slammed it down on the table (she would've placed it gently since Hermione has the greatest respect for books, but it was so cumbersome that it took a great amount of effort to heave it up on the table).   
  
"Good God Hermione! Why on earth do you have a book that size for?" Ron said looking at the huge mass on the table.  
  
Hermione ignored him and rapidly flipped through what seemed like hundreds and hundreds of pages. "Here!" she exclaimed. Ron and Harry looked at the page and read the title of the chapter: "Magmani: Evil Incarnate or Simply Misunderstood?" Hermione began to read: "During the medieval era those persons who were found to be magmani were usually taken into custody and tortured. Since magmani are unable to tolerate low temperatures, they were usually stripped and put out in the snow, while this causes large amounts of pain it does not usually kill magmani. They were usually left in this vulnerable position until they confessed to using their power against the good of the people--"   
  
"Do you read this stuff before you go to bed?" Ron asked.  
  
Hermione looked up with a sly grin and said, "Doesn't everyone?" She flipped through a couple more pages and started reading again, "Although most of these practices have been eliminated in today's society, magmani are still required to reveal themselves to the proper authorities ( i.e. the Ministry of Magic) and are required to put down the symbol of the magmani on all official papers."  
  
That explains the family tree. Harry thought and looked closer at the symbol to the right of his great great grandmother's name. It looked like a bird intertwined between a circle and a flame.   
  
Hermione continued, "Magmani are a rare occurrence and little is known about what causes the condition. However, it has been noted that those who have ancestors that were known magmani are more likely to see another one in the family, than those who have had no relation to one. There have been only ten cases of magmanism reported to the Ministry of Magic in the past one-hundred and fifty years, and the Ministry of Magic confidently believes that their existence will be completely eradicated in the next thirty years." Hermione stopped and closed the book (which was quite an effort) and Harry was able to see the title for the first time, "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Magic…Ever."   
  
"I wonder what happened to your grandmother." Ron said.  
  
"Me too." Harry said trying to block out any thought of torture.  
  
"You might want to cover up that symbol tomorrow, Harry. Draco for one would be ever so happy to find out that you had a magmanos in the family." Ron said.  
  
"Yeah I guess" Harry said.  
  
Ron yawned. Harry and Hermione soon followed suit. "Well this sure has been interesting, but I'm getting tired." Ron said.   
  
"Yeah, it is getting late, thanks for your help Hermione." Harry said.  
  
"Sure. See you guys in the morning." Hermione said trying to balance her book on her hip.  
  
Harry and Ron went up to their rooms and got into their beds. Harry heard Ron fall asleep almost immediately. Harry, however, lay awake for a long time staring at his family tree, and more specifically at Selene's name. He looked at his clock, which now read 2:11. He couldn't believe that in only a few hours he had found so much about his family. However, he really wanted to find out more about Selene. Harry thought how wonderful it would be to have another aunt, and then a terrible thought hit him. What if she was like Aunt Petunia? Harry cringed. No, he thought, there had to be a rule that only one Petunia was allowed per family.   
  
*****************************  
  
Harry awoke the next morning to find Ron staring down at him. "C'mon, Harry we're going to be late." Ron said.  
  
Harry got dressed quickly and he and Ron ran quickly toward Professor Binns' class. Ron, who had also gotten up late and had been forced to dress quickly, was so preoccupied with fixing his robe sleeve that he didn't see Ophelia Hughes, a Hufflepuff, pinning up posters. More importantly he didn't see the pile of posters at her feet, which he proceeded to step on and went sliding down the hallway.   
  
"Watch where you're going!" Ophelia yelled as Ron went careening down the hallway on one of the posters. Ophelia rolled her eyes and Harry laughed as Ron finally fell with a thump at the end of the hall. Ron rubbed his backside as he picked up the poster.   
  
"What are these?" Ron asked.   
  
"It's for the Costume Ball" Ophelia said.  
  
"The what?" Ron and Harry said together.  
  
"You haven't heard? There's going to be a ball on Halloween and it's going to be great! Everyone in costumes and decorations and everything..." Ophelia continued to talk about the ball and didn't even notice that Ron and Harry had left, fearing they would be late for class. Luckily they were able to slip into class unnoticed by Binns. Hermione, however, gave them a condescending look as they snuck into their seats.  
  
The class was relatively boring, until Hermione started her presentation. Her entire family was muggle and she had just mentioned her great grandmother, Zelda Granger, when Malfoy leaned over to his friends to make some snide comment. These comments grew louder and louder until they made Hermione visually uncomfortable. Harry then turned around and glared at Malfoy than gave him a sly smile and tapped his nose. Draco, whose nose was still swollen, suddenly became quiet.  
  
Harry was really nervous as he presented his tree. He hoped that Binns wouldn't notice the Magmanos symbol. Luckily Binns was only half paying attention to him, and the rest of the class' attention was else where, so the magmanos symbol went unnoticed.  
  
The rest of the day was busy for Harry and he was disappointed that once again he was unable to make it to the owlery to contact Sirius. What made this day even worse was that Snape had told Harry that he was to take his detention tonight. During dinner Harry was trying to mentally calculate how he could get to the owlery without being late for detention. He was so lost in his thoughts that Ron had to tug on the sleeve of his robe to get his attention.  
  
"HARRY!" Ron shouted.  
  
"Oh… I'm sorry Ron, I wasn't paying attention." Harry said.  
  
"Obviously." Ron said, "Anyway I was saying that this costume ball thingy might not be so bad. I mean if I can get a hold of that mask Dad has stored somewhere in that attic. It's really cool and really gruesome." Ron said making a scary face at Hermione.  
  
"Who are you going to go with?" asked Ginny Weasley.  
  
"That's a good question." Hermione said to Ron.  
  
Ron who was still making faces at Hermione suddenly blushed, "I don't know." he said sheepishly.  
  
Harry and Ginny tried to hide their smiles. Over the past couple of weeks Harry had noticed that something was going on between Ron and Hermione. Apparently Ginny had noticed it also.  
  
"Well, who are you going with?" Ron retorted to Hermione, "Now that Krum isn't here you might have to settle for someone who isn't a world famous quidditch player."   
  
"That wasn't what I liked about him!" Hermione exclaimed. "He was more mature than some people I know." She said looking at Ron.  
  
Ron got the point. "Well then, why don't I make you really mad and ask YOU to the dance. After all it might damage your more mature status!"  
  
"Fine!" Hermione shouted and left the table.  
  
"Fine!" Ron called after her.  
  
Harry and Ginny exchanged confused looks. "What just happened here?" Harry said. "Are you and Hermione going to the ball together?"   
  
"Guess so." Ron said rather plainly. "So who are you going with?"  
  
"I don't know." Harry said. "Cho is the only person I REALLY want to go with and well…. After what happened last June…. Well I just don't feel it is right to ask her. Other than her, there's no one else I really want to go with."  
  
Harry turned and saw Ginny absentmindedly poking at her vegetables. "Who are you going with Ginny?" he asked her. She looked up at him. Her expression was half embarrassment and half surprise. "Me? Um…Well….there's this one guy, but he doesn't seem to notice me…"  
  
"Tell me who he is, and I'll go beat him up." Ron said.  
  
Ginny smiled and blushed, "That's okay. I, uh, have some homework I need to finish. See you guys later."  
  
It wasn't long after Ginny left that Harry realized that she had been talking about him. Harry knew that Ginny had a crush on him and he regretted the statement he said about Cho being the only one that he would consider going to the ball with. He excused himself from the table and ran to catch up with her. "Wait!" he called after her. Ginny stopped and turned around. "Harry?" she said.  
  
Harry took a deep breath, "Well I was wondering…well…um…since apparently your brother and Hermione are going to the ball together…. I was thinking…well if you didn't have any plans…(Ginny broke into a wide grin)…would you consider going with me?"  
  
Ginny looked at Harry as if she was trying to decide on whether to kiss him or run away. "Yes." she said finally. Her whole face disappeared under her wide grin.   
  
"Mr. Potter." Snape said behind them, causing Harry to jump.  
  
"Yes sir." Harry answered.  
  
"Why don't you head on down to my office. I have a meeting with Dumbledore tonight, but that's no reason to delay your detention. There are instructions for you on my desk." Snape said and left.  
  
"You better go." Ginny said to Harry.  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Harry said.  
  
"Thanks for asking me to go to the ball with you." Ginny said.  
  
"You're welcome." Harry said, blushing. 


	3. Detention

Chapter Three: Detention   
  
  
  
  
After he left Ginny, Harry trudged over to Snape's office and went inside. Harry saw a note on Snape's desk addressed to him. He opened it and read:   
  
  
  
……Harry, I am in a meeting with Dumbledore, and unfortunately can not be there to supervise your detention, as I am sure that you will most likely destroy or take something. (Harry rolled his eyes) However, I will leave this assignment in hopes that you will complete it without too much trouble. I would like you to clean out the cages of the Gripoys as they are most filthy and I hate to do it. -Professor Snape.   
  
  
  
Harry sighed as he went over to the Gripoys' cages. This had to be the worst detention yet. Harry knelt down and stared at them sliding over each other in the cages. They had to be the most disgusting things Harry had ever seen. They looked like a cross between an eel and a lobster. They had eel-like bodies but had lobster-like legs and pincers. While they had no eyes or noses, they did have huge mouths. If they got spooked they would scream and emit a horrible smell. Not that they didn't smell bad anyway. The smell came from a liquid that would ooze from flaps in their skin. Oddly enough it was used in making love potions, but if you got any of the raw stuff on you, the only things you would be attracting for weeks would be flies. No wonder Snape didn't like to do this. Harry took a deep breath, found some gloves, and very gently picked up the first Gripoy and moved him into a separate container. He held his breath the whole time so he would not spook the creatures or inhale their stench. He had moved all the Gripoys and finished cleaning out the cages when he heard something behind him. Harry thought it was Snape and suppressed the urge to throw one of those nasty animals at him, but when he turned around an exceptionally large dog met him. "Sirius!" Harry exclaimed. The dog went to the door and nudged it shut with his snout. He then returned to his human form.  
  
"Hi Harry." Sirius said.  
  
"What are you doing here? Harry asked holding a rather large Gripoy.  
  
"I had to meet with Dumbledore to discuss some things." Sirius replied.  
  
"Really? Snape had to do the same thing." Harry said.  
  
"I know." Sirius replied rather annoyed, "He was in there with me. He told me that you were put in detention for hitting the Malfoy boy."  
  
Harry placed the Gripoy in its cage, "Yeah." he said.  
  
Sirius laughed, "Well, if Draco Malfoy is anything like his father, than there's no doubt that he deserved it."  
  
Harry smiled and went back to transferring Gripoys back into their cages. Sirius frowned and wrinkled his nose, "He must really hate you to have given you this assignment."  
  
Harry nodded and tried to force the last one in the cage. The Gripoy, not taking kindly to this treatment began to moan. "Wait!" Sirius said, "Here, let me show you." Sirius took the Gripoy and rubbed the back of its tail, which seemed to calm it immediately. Harry looked up amazed.   
  
"Hey, you're not the only one that has had to do this. I can't begin to count the number of times your father and I had to clean out Gripoy cages. We got sprayed once, it wasn't pretty." Sirius said.  
  
The mention of his father made Harry remember what he wanted to tell Sirius. "Sirius!" Harry started, "you'll never believe what I found!"  
  
"What?" Sirius asked washing his hands in a nearby sink.  
  
"My family tree!" Harry shouted. "I found out that my grandmother was an mugmu-…mangu-"  
  
"Magmanos." Sirius replied drying his hands on his robes.  
  
"You knew?" Harry asked.  
  
Sirius smiled faintly, "Yes, I knew."  
  
"Do you know about my mother's other sister, Selene?" Harry asked.  
  
At the mention of Selene's name Sirius sat down suddenly as if he had just had the wind knocked out of him. "Where's this tree?" he asked.  
  
Harry ran upstairs to get the book and the photo album to bring to Sirius who was waiting outside in the garden. Harry couldn't help but wonder why Sirius had reacted like that. Did he know Selene? Was she dead? Harry was afraid of the answer to the last question. Finally, with tree and book in hand he went outside to find Sirius, who was sitting on a bench and playing with something in his hand. Before Harry could get a good look at it, he put it in his pocket. Harry handed over the tree and Sirius examined it, his eyes stopping when they came to Selene's name. "Do you know her?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes." Sirius said, his voice revealing nothing.  
  
Harry opened the photo album. "Is this her?" he asked pointing to the woman who had scared him off his bed the previous night.  
  
Barely looking at it, Sirius replied, "Yes."  
  
"Well where is she?" Harry demanded. "How can I see her? Is she in London?"  
  
"She's dead." Sirius replied, his eyes fixed on the ground.  
  
Harry sank into the ground. He had wanted more than anything for her to be alive. Although he was grateful that he had Sirius as a godfather, Harry had wanted to have a living blood relative somewhere on this planet. "When?" Harry asked quietly.  
  
"A long time ago. She died trying to…." he stopped and looked around. Harry saw what Sirius was looking at, it was the Ravenclaw Quidditch team heading towards the entrance of Hogwarts. Apparently they had been practicing and had come in when it had gotten too dark and too cold to play. The problem was that Sirius and Harry were between them and the front door.   
  
"Harry," Sirius said, "I need to go. I can't be seen."  
  
"What did Selene die trying to do?" Harry asked, ignoring Sirius' previous statement.  
  
"She died trying to save me, Harry." Sirius blurted out glancing at the Ravenclaws, making sure they were far enough away. He grabbed Harry's shoulders. "Harry," he said. "Leave this alone." Harry tightened his shoulders and shook his head no. Sirius grabbed his arms tighter. "I'm serious Harry! Now is not the time. I'll explain it to you one day, Harry, but today is not that day. There would be serious problems if people found out about--" Sirius cut himself off and backed away from Harry. "Promise me." he said.  
  
Harry stood still.  
  
"Promise me." Sirius repeated.  
  
Harry nodded in compliance. Sirius, who seemed satisfied, returned to his dog shape and ran toward the woods. 


	4. The Phoenix

Chapter 4: The Phoenix  
  
  
After his conversation with Sirius, Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room where he was met by Ron and Hermione who wanted to know how his detention had gone. He told them that Snape had made him clean out the Gripoy cages (to which both Ron and Hermione made faces), and also about Sirius visiting him.  
  
"So it was Selene in the picture." Ron said.  
  
"Apparently. I wonder why she didn't have a death date under her name if she was dead." Hermione said.  
  
"Because there was no one left to write it in." Ron said.  
  
"Ron!" Hermione said, rather surprised at his lack of sensitivity.  
  
"He's right." said Harry solemnly.   
  
"Are you going to see if you can find out any more information about Selene?" Ron asked.  
  
"No." said Hermione, "He promised Sirius."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes, "Are you?"  
  
"I want to. I want to know why no one told me about her, and why Sirius is being so secretive about her." Harry said.  
  
"Harry, do you think that is wise?" Hermione asked. "What if you don't like what you find out about her?"  
  
"I don't care. I just want to know something about my family." Harry said rather harshly.  
  
"What are you going to do?" Ron asked.  
  
"I don't know." Harry replied.  
  
"You could talk to Dumbledore." Hermione said. She had given up trying to dissuade them and decided that she might as well help. "He knew your parents, he'd probably be able to answer your questions."  
  
"Thanks, Hermione." Harry said and smiled at her.  
  
They ended their conversation soon after and headed to bed. Harry found himself restless again; he just had too much stuff on his mind to sleep. The sun was already beginning to rise by the time that Harry finally managed to go to sleep.  
  
*****************************  
  
The next day as he tried to watch Harry struggle to stay awake, Ron began to get worried.  
  
"Do you think he's alright?" Ron whispered to Hermione during transfiguration.  
  
"He'll be okay, he's just tired." Hermione said.  
  
"I wish he had never found that stupid tree." Ron said. "It's brought him nothing but trouble."  
  
"Then why did you encourage him to find out more about Selene?' Hermione asked.  
  
"Do you really think he needed encouragement?" Ron asked.  
  
Hermione had to admit that he had a point. Hermione watched as Harry's head drop, signaling that he was asleep. Ron moved to wake him.  
  
"No. Let him sleep." Hermione said.  
  
********************  
  
After his little nap in transfiguration, Harry felt a little better. As he walked to Potions he saw Dumbledore walking towards his office. Harry ran to catch up to him, and had to stop to catch his breath before he could talk again.  
  
"Harry?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Can I talk with you?" Harry asked, still panting.  
  
"Sure. What do you need?"  
  
Harry looked around at all the students in the hallway, "Can we talk in your office?"  
  
"Okay." Dumbledore said, "Is something wrong?"  
  
"No." Harry said.   
  
Because Harry was thinking about all the questions that he wanted to ask Dumbledore, it seemed like no time before Harry found himself in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore sat behind his large desk and gestured to Harry sit down.  
  
"Take a seat." he said to Harry. Harry sat in a chair facing Dumbledore's desk. "What would you like to talk about?" he asked Harry.  
  
"I…uh…wanted to know if…um…you knew Selene Evans." Harry managed to get out. Dumbledore's face did not show the same surprise as Sirius' had, which surprised Harry.  
  
"Selene Evans, yes I did know her. She was your aunt, wasn't she?" he said and Harry nodded.  
  
"She was a good student, a little quiet, and a year younger than your mother I believe. Pretty girl." Dumbledore said.  
  
"Anything else?" Harry asked.  
  
"She died around the same time as your parents. That's about all I know Harry."  
  
Harry slumped back in the chair and there was a knock on the door.  
  
"Yes?" Dumbledore called out. The door opened and Professor McGonagall walked through it. She looked at Harry rather oddly and then she spoke to Dumbledore.   
  
"Albus, could I speak to you for a minute, privately." she said.  
  
"Of course, Minerva. Harry, I'll be right back."  
  
Dumbledore left the room and Harry, upset that no one seemed to know or even care about his aunt, kicked Dumbledore's desk. Although it wasn't a hard kick, a stack of papers went tumbling to the floor. Harry quickly got down to pick them up. On top of the pile was a letter. Although it was folded in half, the ink was quite visible and Harry that it was his godfather's handwriting. Harry knew that he shouldn't but he couldn't help but pick up the letter and open it. It read:  
  
Albus-  
Harry has found out about Selene. I told him to drop the   
matter, but if he is anything like his father, he won't. Please don't   
tell him the truth about her. The time isn't right-  
-Sirius  
  
Harry didn't know what to think. His emotions were a blend of curiosity and anger. What was so great about Selene, and why wouldn't Sirius let him know anything about his aunt. He was so caught up in the letter that he didn't realize that Dumbledore was standing right behind him.  
  
Dumbledore cleared his throat, making Harry jump.  
  
Harry tried to come up with an explanation, "I'm…I'm…sorry…they just fell…and…I-"  
  
"It's okay Harry, in fact I'm kind of glad you found that letter." Dumbledore said.  
  
Harry looked at him confused.  
  
"I don't like secrets, they are rather hard to keep." Dumbledore said with a smile and then bent over to help Harry pick up the fallen papers. "I don't agree with Sirius on this one, I think you have a right to know, and I think that the time is right."  
  
Harry sat back down in the chair, still holding Sirius' letter.  
  
Dumbledore continued, "On the other hand, I can see why Sirius would want to keep this from you, and I quite understand. Don't be angry with him."   
  
"I'm not mad, I'm just confused." Harry said.  
  
"Alright, I'll tell you what happened. Dumbledore leaned back in his chair and began, "Selene came to Hogwarts a year after Lily, and although she was a year younger her skills surpassed her sister. This didn't cause a problem for either of them because Lily and Selene were extremely close. Lily introduced Selene to James, Sirius, and the rest of that bunch and they all became close friends. One day, during her fourth year, I walked into my classroom and found Selene crying. I asked her what was wrong, but all she would say was that she knew that something was horribly wrong with her. I promised that there wasn't, but it did little to console her. Finally she told me that while on a walk that day; she encountered a deer whose hoof was stuck between two rocks. She said it was screaming and thrashing about like wild. She pulled and pulled at the rocks but they were much too heavy. She realized she had left her wand on her bed, but she couldn't leave the poor animal. As a last resort she put both hands on the rock and shouted, "Oustis!" The rocks flew apart and the deer was free. She said that she didn't know why she did that, or why she was so positive that it would work. Finally Selene realized what she had done and what it meant. Selene was a….."  
  
"Magmanos." Harry whispered, finishing Dumbledore's sentence.  
  
"That's right." Dumbledore said. "Selene was a magmanos. She was terrified of course and she had reason to be. How much do you know about magmani, Harry?"  
  
"Not much," Harry admitted. "I know people were afraid of them."  
  
"Yes. But there's more to it than that. Magmani aren't normal witches or wizards. People like you and I need wands to produce magic. The Magmani need no such device."  
  
"How is that?" Harry asked.  
  
"We aren't sure. However there is a theory, a theory that I happen to believe. It is based on an old myth. Hundreds of years ago mythical creatures such as dragons and phoenixes were much more prevalent than they are today. These animals were often hunted and killed for various reasons. Anyway, it is said that there once was a hunting party that went into a forest in order to kill a phoenix. Phoenixes are extremely hard to catch and even harder to kill, but these hunters managed to catch up with one and hunt it down. However, when they shot it, the bird managed to fly a little ways before it fell to the ground writhing in pain and screaming. While the hunters tried to find their prize, a young woman was walking in the woods and found the wounded bird. She held the phoenix in her arms and when the hunters found her, she refused to give it back to them. Frustrated with the woman the lead hunter shot an arrow straight into her heart. The phoenix let out a horrible cry that was heard throughout the forest. Upon hearing the cry of the phoenix, the hunters went insane and were never heard from again.   
  
"What happened to the woman and the phoenix?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, it is said that when phoenix died it joined its spirit with that of the woman in order to save her life. After the woman recovered she found that she could perform magic with her hands, without the aid of any wand."   
  
"Why don't they like the cold?" Harry asked.  
  
"As you know phoenixes are birds of fire, and it is the phoenix spirit of the magmani that give them their power. When you subject a magmanos to extreme cold, the phoenix spirit becomes frozen and the magmani feel not only the cold, but also the immense pain of being shot through the chest. Or so the story goes.  
  
"Are they really dangerous?" Harry asked.  
  
"They can be. There was a magmanos by the name of Carmen who killed many people throughout the late eighteenth century."  
  
"What happened to her?" Harry asked  
  
"Well the official report said that she went insane and jumped off a cliff. However, some of us believe that the phoenix within her spirit deserted her, and bereft of powers and in immense pain she plunged off the cliff. Other than that, the only times of heard of magmani hurting people was in self-defense."  
  
"What would have happened if people found out that Selene was what she was?" Harry asked.  
  
"They probably would have contained her, maybe even sent her to Azkaban". Dumbledore answered.  
  
"Even though she was only fourteen?" Harry asked astounded.  
  
"Yes. The Ministry of Magic is very afraid of magmani. They were afraid of what would happen if a magmanos teamed up with Voldemort. Of course it never dawned on them that one would be beneficial on our side….."  
  
"Why didn't Sirius want me to know about her?" Harry asked.  
  
Dumbledore took a deep breath and then said, "Selene and Sirius were in love."  
  
"In love?"  
  
"Yes. They were quite the couple in school. After they graduated, though, things became very complicated. Voldemort was rising to power and the Ministry was checking families and their backgrounds for any ties to the Dark Arts. Selene was afraid that she would be discovered so she left England. I believed she settled on a little island off the coast of Greece." Dumbledore said.  
  
"How did she die?" Harry asked looking down at the floor.  
  
"She returned to England the summer that your parents were killed. Selene was there with Sirius when he found you and your parents. She went with him to find Peter Pettigrew. I'm not sure what happened exactly, Sirius won't talk about it, but she was killed when they cornered them." Dumbledore said.  
  
Harry nodded and then his stomach dropped when a sudden realization hit him. "Why did she come back to England?"  
  
Dumbledore didn't answer.  
  
"She came to see me didn't she?" Harry said.  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Harry-" he said but was cut off.   
  
"Is there anyone else whose death I am responsible for?" Harry demanded.   
  
"Harry, you know you aren't responsible for the deaths of Selene, Cedric, or your parents. Voldemort killed them; he's the one to blame. Don't blame yourself." Dumbledore said.  
  
"How can I not?" Harry said and stormed out of Dumbledore's office. 


	5. The Costume Ball

Chapter Five: The Costume Ball   
  
  
Walking up the stairs to Gryffindor tower, Harry regretted storming out of Dumbledore's office. He hoped that Dumbledore didn't think that Harry was upset with him, he wasn't. In fact, Harry really appreciated everything that Dumbledore told him about his aunt. Harry thought that if he should be mad at anyone it would be Sirius for keeping this from him, but Harry wasn't upset with Sirius either. Although he wished that Sirius had told him, he knew how much it would hurt him to do so. The more and more that Harry thought about it, the more and more Harry realized that he and Sirius had a lot in common. Harry sometimes felt that he was unbelievably alone in this world, and he imagined that Sirius felt the same way. Harry didn't like to talk about the death of his parents, because he was always reminded (thanks to the dementors) of his mother's screams. From his discussion with Dumbledore, Harry knew that Sirius had watched Selene die and he couldn't blame him for not wanting to talk about it.  
  
"Clabbert." Harry said to the Fat Lady, who smiled at him and opened the door.  
  
"Hey Harry!" Ron yelled from a game of Wizard chess that he was playing with Hermione. "How did it go?"  
  
"Fine." Harry said.  
  
"Tell us what happened?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry told them what had happened. When he was done, Hermione and Ron stared at him. "Well?" Harry asked, "Are you two going to say anything?"  
  
"Wow." Ron said.  
  
"Wow." Hermione said then added, "No wonder Sirius didn't want to tell you."  
  
"I wonder what its like to have a phoenix inside you," Ron asked.  
  
"Ron you idiot, the actual bird isn't inside you." Hermione retorted.  
  
"Thank you professor, I realized that. You know what I meant." Ron said rolling his eyes.  
  
Harry looked at his friends in amusement, "Are you two really going to the ball together?" Harry asked. "All you two ever do is fight. Or are you just having lovers' spats?" Harry added grinning.  
  
Ron and Hermione blushed. Ron who was particularly red at the moment decided to switch the spotlight to Harry, "You have no room to talk, Romeo. Ginny told me that you asked her to the Ball."  
  
"And?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron, who was quite surprised at Harry's cool response and the fact that he was able to say it without blushing, poked around at a fallen rook and said, "Oh, well….she just told me… that's all."  
  
********************  
  
As the days until the Costume Ball counted down, the mood at Hogwarts became very excited. Between that and his schoolwork, Harry had almost forgotten about his family's past. Ron's dad had sent him the mask that he had been talking about for weeks. The mask (which was quite impressive) was a Chinese Fireball dragon. Apparently Bill had picked it up while in China. For his own mask, Harry had settled on a nice griffin mask that he had purchased on a trip to Hogsmeade.  
  
When the day of the Ball finally arrived, the students (as well as the faculty) were so excited that they cancelled afternoon classes. This was unprecedented in Hogwarts, but as long as Harry didn't have to go to Potions, he was fine with the decision. "Hey Harry, how do my fangs look? Are they straight?"   
  
Harry squinted and adjusted the left tooth so it was now equal with the right.   
  
"Thanks Harry." Ron said.  
  
"How about my beak?" Harry asked.  
  
"Perfect." Ron said.  
  
"Shall we go and find our dates?" Harry asked, taking one last look in the mirror.  
  
"Yeah. I guess. I hope Hermione doesn't come as book." Ron said.   
  
Ron and Harry stepped out into the Gryffindor common room and waited for Ginny and Hermione.   
  
After waiting for about ten minutes, Ron looked at the clock above the fireplace and nodded disapprovingly, "Why do girls take so long to get ready?"   
  
"Why are boys so impatient?" came a voice from behind him.  
  
Harry and Ron turned around. Hermione was behind them. She was wearing a long silvery white dress and had on a glass mask that changed colors when she moved her head. Her hair was pulled back and had little silver and blue pearls in it. "Well, that certainly looks like a book to me…" Harry said. Ron gave him a push, which knocked him over into one of the large fluffy chairs. "Hey! You messed up my mask!" Harry shouted trying to sound angry. Harry picked himself up off the chair and went over to adjust the mask in the mirror. When he looked in the mirror he saw someone's reflection behind him, and it took him a minute to realize that it was Ginny's.  
  
"Wow." Harry thought. Ginny was dressed in a long green gown and had a purple and gold butterfly mask on. Her hair fell loosely over her shoulders and her bright eyes shined through the mask. She looked stunning.   
  
"You don't like it?" She asked.   
  
"No! I mean Yes….you look….great." Harry finally managed to get out.  
  
"Shall we?" Harry said offering his arm to her. Ginny took it and they followed Ron and Hermione out of the tower.  
  
The Great Hall looked much different than usual. All the tables were gone, with the exception of a few in the back that held all sorts of goodies. The hall was decorated with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes and streamers that hung mysteriously in midair. The ceiling offered a large and brilliant harvest moon that shone down upon the guests. The presence of the resident ghosts at Hogwarts put the finishing touches on a truly spectacular room. "Wow." Harry said as he tried to locate the location of where the haunting music was coming from. More and more people filed in and when it seemed that they couldn't fit any one else in, Professor Dumbledore (with a hippogriff mask on) stood up and addressed the students…  
  
"Welcome to the first Hogwarts Halloween Costume Ball! (many cheers ensued). I would like to thank all the staff that helped decorate and all the professors that allowed the students to have time off today in order to enjoy the day more (more cheers)! Now I want all of you to remember one thing……Have a most wonderful time tonight!" More cheers radiated from the room as the music started up again and students began to dance.  
  
Harry felt a feeling of dread sweep over him. He didn't know how to dance, at least not well. He had moved around a bit to some music before, but that would hardly be considered dancing by anyone. "Well?" Ginny asked, expecting him to lead her on to the dance floor. Harry nodded and took her hand (he hoped that it wasn't too sweaty) and they moved onto the dance floor. They moved slowly at first and then Harry (much to his own surprise), began to feel more confident, and picked up the pace. Harry was so preoccupied in dancing and in Ginny that he almost didn't see the stranger walk in, but he did, as did everyone else. She walked into the room like she'd been there before, but didn't know quite what to expect. Although she was wearing a mask, everyone knew it was a woman. Her mannerisms alone gave away her femininity, but her costume left no doubt. She wore a long red robe that turned fiery orange when she moved. Her hair, which was barely visible because of her mask, was as brilliantly red as her dress. Her mask was magnificent. A golden bird ran down the bridge of her nose and its wings stretched out over her forehead. It was also adorned by gold, red, and orange feathers, which seemed to be constructed out of fire. The woman made her way over to Dumbledore and gave him a polite bow. He returned her bow and they started to dance, and (after a while) so did the rest of the students except for Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Harry.  
  
"Who do you think she is?" Harry asked.  
  
"She's beautiful." Ron said.  
  
"She's probably a friend of Dumbledore's." Hermione said closing Ron's gaping mouth. "Can we dance now?"  
  
All four went back to dancing, but Harry was distracted by the new stranger and kept stepping on Ginny's feet. "Ouch! Harry!" she cried.  
  
"I'm so sorry Ginny." Harry said.  
  
"It's okay. I'm going to go get some punch and sit down for a while." she said and then grinned, "until the swelling goes down."  
  
"Oh very funny." Harry said and smiled.  
  
He watched Ginny leave and then went and stood against the wall. "Mr. Potter, can I see you for a moment?" Harry turned around and saw Dumbledore looking down at him. He had taken off his mask, which he was holding in his hand. Harry was struck by Dumbledore's expression, which was that of bewilderment and delight.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" Harry asked.  
  
"Oh no. Quite the opposite really… please follow me."  
  
Harry complied and they weaved their way through the crowd and out through the doors. There waiting for them was the lady in red. "Albus, he really does look like James doesn't he?" a voice said from underneath the mask. Harry was really confused. The lady stepped closer to him, and they made eye contact. Harry's confusion was replaced by astonishment; he had seen those eyes before.  
  
"Harry…" Dumbledore said.  
  
Harry couldn't believe it. It couldn't possibly be true…  
  
"I would like you to meet your aunt, Selene." Dumbledore said, his eyes glistening. 


	6. The Curse

Chapter 6: The Curse  
  
  
"Hello, Harry." Selene said.  
  
Harry couldn't think straight. He absentmindedly pinched his left leg, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Selene stepped towards him and Harry stepped back. He wanted desperately to believe that this was true, that she was alive. "I thought you were…were…"  
  
"Dead?" Selene asked. "I get that a lot."  
  
Harry turned to Dumbledore, "You told me she was dead."  
  
"I thought she was." he replied.   
  
"So you really are her?" Harry asked Selene, "You're my aunt?"  
  
She smiled, "I really am."  
  
Aunt and nephew stood staring at each other, both not daring to blink. They each were trying to figure out if the other one real.  
  
"Let's go up to my office." Dumbledore said. "We can be assured privacy there."  
  
The walk to Dumbledore's office seemed unending. Harry had dozens of things that he wanted to ask Selene, but before he could get one question out, another popped into his head. Finally the three of them entered Dumbledore's office. Fawkes, sitting on his perch, cooed quietly as Dumbledore patted his beak and let him nibble on his finger.  
  
Harry watched Selene walk over to the fireplace. Set against the fire, her costume made Selene almost invisible. She reached behind her head and unclasped the mask. Finally free, her hair fell loosely down her back and Harry got his first look at her face. Ron was right. She was a beautiful woman. Her green eyes met his and she smiled, but her eyes did not. There seemed to be a sadness residing in them. Harry had seen that sadness before, in Sirius' eyes.  
  
Dumbledore sat behind his desk, "Selene, I must know. Where have you been all these years?"  
  
Harry wanted to know too. Why now? Why had she waited until now to come?  
  
Although Dumbledore asked the question, she responded to Harry's unasked ones, "I'm sorry I was unable to see you before."  
  
"Why didn't you?" Harry asked.   
  
"Harry, I loved your parents very much, when they died, something inside me died. All I wanted was revenge, which is why I went with Sirius to kill Peter.  
  
Harry looked over at Dumbledore who said, "I've informed her of our earlier conversation."  
  
Harry said, "Why didn't you come back for me?"  
  
"Is that what you think--" she said.  
  
"Why did you leave me alone?" Harry asked, his voice beginning to crack with emotion.  
"I had to leave you with the Dursleys Harry. There was no other way." she said.  
  
"You could've tried."  
  
"I did try, Harry. I thought of everything, but when it came down to it….You know what I am Harry, the Ministry would have taken you away from me. We decided it was best for you to be removed from our world until it was safe. It broke my heart to send you away."  
  
Harry tried hard to fight against the flood of emotions that was fighting to escape from him. He was thankful for Dumbledore's interruption:  
  
"The Ministry knew?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Yes. Peter told them." Selene replied. "Voldemort knew that I would never join the Death Eaters, especially after killing James and Lily, so he instructed Peter to tell the Ministry that I was a magmanos. That way I would be….eliminated as a threat."  
  
"But you got away." Harry said, finally getting a grip on his emotions.  
  
Selene walked up to his chair and knelt beside it. "No I didn't Harry. The night that we went looking for Peter, I had made up my mind that after we killed Peter, I would come and take you away from the Dursleys. I just couldn't bare to think of you with Petunia and of the lies she would tell you about your mother." She paused and reached up to brush a strand of hair out of Harry's eyes. "However, we underestimated Peter and his ties to Crouch. Crouch and his lemmings were there even before we were."  
  
"You mean they could've stopped the massacre from happening." Dumbledore said.  
  
"Yes. But they needed "evidence" to convict Sirius and me. Right after the explosion they cornered us in an alley, dragged Sirius away, and left me with Crouch. All of Crouch's lemmings thought he had me killed that night, but he didn't. Crouch was extremely curious and extremely afraid of magmani. He decided on another punishment for me…one which he would be able observe me for years…." her voice trailed off.  
  
"Totale Rhumital?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"Yes." Selene said.  
  
"Totale Rhumital?" Harry asked.  
  
"Totale Rhumital is a freezing curse, Harry." Dumbledore said.  
  
Harry turned his eyes back to Selene, "How long?" he asked.  
  
"Thirteen years." Selene said almost mechanically, her voice had lost all emotion.  
  
"I thought…shouldn't that of killed you?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes, but Harry, revenge is a powerful emotion. Revenge kept my mind sane and gave me the will to fight against the cold." Selene said.  
  
"You must have been in a great deal of pain." Dumbledore said.  
  
"Pain doesn't even begin to describe what I felt."  
  
"How did you get free?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, I didn't know at first. One day I felt the ice crack and I fought against it and managed to get free. It wasn't until later that I learned of Crouch's death." she said.  
  
Harry looked confused and Dumbledore picked up on it, "You see Harry," he said, "Most curses only last for as long as the lives of the casters. Although like Avada Kedavra, Totale Rhumital isn't one of these. However, Crouch's death must have weakened the curse enough for Selene to break it."  
  
Selene nodded. "I was very disoriented and weak for a couple of months. A muggle man took me in until I regained my strength---"  
  
There was a knock on the door. Madame Hooch stepped in. "I'm sorry to interrupt, headmaster, but we've had a situation break out in the Great Hall. It seems that the Weasley boy and Draco Malfoy are at it again." she said.  
  
"Oh dear." Dumbledore said, "I better make an appearance." he turned to Selene, "You may stay as long as you wish."  
  
Selene nodded politely and soon Selene and Harry were alone. Fawkes started cooing. Selene smiled, "Hello old friend, I was wondering when you were going to say hello." she left Harry's side and went to stroke the bird's feathers. Harry left his chair and walked over to Fawkes and also started to pet him.   
  
Watching her stroke the phoenix, Harry remembered a question that he had wanted to ask her, "Selene?" Harry asked.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"How does it work? Your magic I mean." Harry asked.  
  
She smiled, "Sit down, I'll show you."  
  
Harry and Selene both sat down across from each other on the floor. Selene smiled and held out her hand, palm up. Harry then watched in amazement when a few glowing dots began to appear on her wrists. The dots began to move up towards her hand. They started to increase in number and brightness, the few dots turned into hundreds and they centered themselves at the center of her palm. Suddenly they erupted into a flame, which she held quite comfortably in her palm.  
  
Harry looked up and smiled at her, she smiled back and closed her hand, extinguishing the flame. "Let me show you another." she said and moved closer to him. "Let me see your hand." she said. Harry extended his left hand, which she took and pressed it against her right. Selene closed her eyes, and suddenly her hand became very warm. The warmth spread into Harry's finger tips and then to began to creep up his arm. It was the most amazing feeling he had ever experienced. He felt like he was wrapped around in a big cozy blanket. The warmth spread into his shoulders and then down his back. Selene withdrew her hand and the warmth went away.   
  
"Wow." Harry said.  
  
Selene smiled, "I haven't done that in years. Not since….not since the night Sirius was killed."  
  
Killed? Harry thought. Sirius isn't dead. Then a thought struck him….she doesn't know that Sirius is alive. "Selene, Sirius isn't dead." Harry said.  
  
"What?" Selene said.  
  
"He's alive."  
  
"But I saw- I thought…"  
  
"He wasn't killed that night." Harry said, "He was taken to Azkaban."  
  
"Azkaban? Oh no."  
  
"Its ok. He escaped."  
  
Selene raised her hands to her mouth (Harry noticed that they had started shaking), "Do you know where he is?" she whispered through her fingers.  
  
"Of course. I can take you there, it isn't far." Harry said.  
  
"Take me." Selene replied. 


	7. The Reunion

** After many exams, a major hard drive crash, being introduced to the Lord of the Rings, and severe writer's block (no joke I wrote this chapter at least five times), Family Tree has returned. If there are any loyal readers out there, I apologize for the wait.**  
  
Chapter Seven: The Reunion  
  
As Harry and Selene traveled through the dark passageway, Harry was amazed at how well Selene could navigate through the dark. He then realized that this was not the first time that Selene had been down here. After all, she had probably been down here numerous times with the Marauders. After what seemed like an eternity to Harry they finally arrived in Hogsmeade. Harry pulled his cloak around him as they walked out into the cold night air. Concerned about his aunt, he turned to Selene to see how she was dealing with the cold. Besides the fact that she had wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and her teeth were chattering, Selene seemed unaffected by the cold. Harry noted that this seemed a little unusual, but shrugged it off as the cold wind lashed Harry's face and forced him to concentrate on getting to Sirius' cave as quickly as possible. When they finally arrived at the cave, Selene followed behind Harry as he went in and called for Sirius…  
  
"Sirius?" Harry asked, feeling his away around in the darkness. Harry heard no response. "Sirius? It's Harry." he said squinting as a light hit his eyes.  
  
"Harry?" Sirius said, lowering his lantern, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I wanted to tell you something." Harry said as he looked behind him for Selene, but she wasn't there.  
  
"Tell me what?" Sirius asked. Harry was looking around for Selene and didn't answer.   
  
"It's about Selene." Harry said turning his attention back to Sirius.  
  
Sirius turned his back to Harry and motioned for him to follow, "I thought I told you to leave that alone." he said.  
  
"I know, but…"  
  
"She's dead Harry. And let that be the end of it." Sirius said decidedly.  
  
At that point they reached where the cave opened up to Sirius' living quarters. Although it was rather small and the fact that it was in a cave, Harry found it to be quite comforting. The room was surprising warm, heated by a small smokeless fire in a corner. Sirius' bed faced the tunnel opening and piles of old newspapers were scattered about. Sirius walked over to his small desk and began working on something that Harry was unable to make out. Leaning over to see what it was that Sirius was working on Harry said, "That's what I wanted to tell you, she isn't dead. She's alive."   
Sirius lifted his pencil for a brief moment, "Impossible." he said.  
  
Harry sighed deeply. He didn't realize how hard it was going to be to convince Sirius that Selene was indeed alive without her actually being there to prove it.. Where did she go? Harry wondered and peered back into the darkness of the tunnel that he had just come from. Suddenly Sirius spoke., "Why do you think that she is alive?" he asked flatly.  
  
"Because she came to see me." Harry said. Sirius turned around and looked at Harry with a questioning look. "When?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Tonight at the costume ball. Dumbledore introduced us and then we came here."  
  
Sirius sat back in his chair and looked as if he was contemplating something. "I can't believe this!" Sirius exclaimed in a manner that caused Harry to back up. "The lengths that he would go to….how did he find….Crouch….he must've, no not even Crouch would have."  
  
"Would have what?" Harry asked wondering who and what his godfather was talking about. Sirius ignored him and continued talking to himself.  
  
"Must be a good illusion. Good enough to fool Dumbledore.?"  
  
Upon hearing the word "illusion" Harry began to realize what Sirius was thinking. Sirius thought that Selene was an illusion. Harry remembered something he had read about illusions in class. Although they were constructed of complex and tedious spells, good illusions could fool just about anyone. They were kind of like ghosts, only you could touch them and vice versa, but they weren't alive, they were more like robots, only more convincing.   
  
"Harry, did you say that you brought her here?" Sirius asked.  
  
Harry nodded. Sirius looked about the room as if something was going to pop out of the stone walls and grab them. He walked over to his bed and grabbed his wand and then crossed the room to a large pile old Daily Prophets and pulled out a small dagger from in between the sheets of the newspaper. Harry's eyes grew wide. "What are you going to do with that?" he asked.   
  
"Where is she?" was Sirius' answer.  
  
"I don't know. But even if I did I don't think that I would tell you." Harry said.  
  
Sirius hard features relaxed slightly and he walked over to Harry and knelt down. "Harry, the person that you think is Selene is not really her." he said. Harry opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by Sirius. "I know you want to believe that it is Selene, but it simply cannot be. She's dead, I watched her die." Harry noticed a sudden and brief spark of pain and anger flare up in Sirius eyes, and suddenly Sirius seemed much older than he was. Sirius continued, "I know that you don't want to hear this, but I am going to tell you anyway. This thing that calls itself Selene was probably sent by Voldemort in order to gain your trust. I have to admit it's a good plan, and apparently by the look on your face it has worked."  
  
"But she showed me her magic. Besides Dumbledore would have seen through the illusion, but he left me alone with her and if she wanted to do something to me, she could have done it then." Harry said.  
  
"Voldemort is growing stronger and Dumbledore isn't getting any younger. With all that Dumbledore has had to do in order to secure Hogwarts and all the extra time spent working with the Ministry of Magic has taken its toll on him. He's getting old, Harry, and tired. With Voldemort's increased strength he would have been able to create an illusion that would fool even Dumbledore himself."   
  
"But her--"  
  
"Magic?" Sirius asked. "Does it not make sense that a magical illusion could create magic itself? It was all an elaborate fabrication, nothing more."  
  
Harry didn't want to believe that it wasn't real. He wanted to argue again, but his own doubts stopped him. What if Sirius was right? He wondered. Harry swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat and asked "Are you going to kill her?"  
  
Sirius paused for a moment and then said, "I'm going to stop her." Harry turned away from his godfather's hard gaze and look over his shoulder and saw Selene standing behind them. Harry wondered how long she had been standing there, her face showed little and if she had heard what they said and Sirius' plans she was making little effort to get away.   
  
Sirius noticed Harry's sudden look of surprise and turned around. As he turned around he found himself face to face with Selene's illusion. Although he had thought himself prepared to meet this apparition, he was not. The thing did look exactly as Sirius remembered. It was as if someone had reached into his mind and created the illusion from his memory. For an instance Sirius questioned himself, what if he wasn't right? What if this really was his Selene. Suddenly as if trying to push back all the emotion and doubt he yelled and pushed the illusion into the cave wall.   
  
Harry jumped at Sirius quick movements and it was obvious that it caught Selene off guard also. Selene or the thing that was pretending to be Selene. His doubts began to crowd his mind again and his mind began to race, replaying the events of the night….  
  
"Who are you?" Sirius questioned the woman.  
  
….Harry thought about how Selene had just appeared from nowhere at the party, no one questioned how she had gotten through the doors, which would have seemed impossible to do with all the security precautions that had taken place…..  
  
"I'm Selene." she said struggling under Sirius' firm grasp.  
  
….And then there was the fact that Selene had not seemed to be all that concerned about the cold when they had traveled to Sirius' cave. After all, Harry thought, everything that he and Hermione had read said that magmani were almost crippled in cold weather…..  
  
"What does he want?" Sirius asked ignoring her previous answer.   
  
…Then there was the matter of her survival. The very fact that she could have survived that type of imprisonment for so long was slim….  
  
"What does who want?" Selene asked in a confused voice.  
  
"Voldemort! The one that sent you!" Sirius shouted.  
  
….Harry continued to think about all the reasons that Selene was not who she said she was and he began to wonder about her magic. Is Sirius right? Could that have been an illusion also? Harry thought about how her magic felt. He remembered how the warmth traveled through his fingertips…..  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Selene shouted back desperately.  
  
….how it had spread down from his hands and into his arms, up his shoulders and throughout his entire body. Harry remembered the peace that it had brought him. The magic had made him feel protected and it made him feel…..  
  
"Yes you do!" Sirius yelled. "He sent you to kill Harry didn't he?" Sirius asked although he had already decided the answer.  
  
"No. No one sent me. I'm Selene, Sirius." Selene said calmly.  
  
Hearing the thing that called itself Selene say his name, infuriated Sirius. He wasn't sure why, but he knew this had to end. If she wasn't going to give him the information he wanted he would kill her, he had to protect Harry. He wrapped his left hand around her wrists tighter and pulled his knife out.   
  
….at home. That's it, Harry said to himself, the magic made him feel at home. He knew then that Selene was who she said she was and no one would be able to convince him otherwise.   
  
Harry was thinking that he had to stop Sirius, when he saw Sirius pull the dagger out from underneath his robes. He watched in an almost trance-like state as Sirius' grasp tightened around Selene and Harry watched as Selene's face drained of color and a look of defeat entered her eyes. For a moment Harry believed Sirius would be unable to kill her, but then he remembered the look of fury that he had witnessed when Sirius had faced Peter in the Shrieking Shack. Harry knew without a doubt he would've killed Peter and he had the same look in his eyes now. Harry was screaming before he even realized it. "STOP!" he yelled.   
  
Sirius lowered the knife and he and Selene looked at Harry. "Harry. This isn't Selene." Sirius said.  
  
"What if she is?" Harry asked. "Have you thought of the possibility that it might possibly be Selene?"  
  
Sirius looked puzzled for a moment as if he was pondering Harry's question. His grip on Selene released slightly and he turned away from her gaze.  
  
"Show him Selene." Harry said, "Show him your magic."  
  
Selene shook her head, "It's not that easy Harry."  
  
"Why not?" Harry asked.  
  
Selene didn't get to answer. Upon recognizing that his grip had loosened, Sirius went to grab her with both hands and momentarily forgot what he held in his right one. The dagger blade cut into Selene's left arm and a small thin line of blood appeared. The three stood without saying anything, but Sirius was the most perplexed of all. Illusions don't bled. Sirius said to himself, illusions don't bleed….  
  
Harry's mind was racing again. All he wanted was to get Selene out of there and the only way to do that was to go through Sirius. Harry didn't want to hurt his godfather, he was the only family that Harry had had up until now. After all, Sirius was only trying to protect him. On the other hand, Sirius was trying to kill the only living family member that Harry had left. Secretly Harry had always felt a little guilty about his parents' death, but he had come to terms with the fact that he couldn't have done anything to stop their murders. This time was different, this time he could stop Sirius. Harry pointed his wand at Sirius and yelled "Petrificus Totalus!"   
  
Harry was lucky that it worked. Usually a spell like this from a wizard of Harry's level would not have affected a wizard like Sirius, but it did. Sirius immediately let go of Selene as he fell on the floor rigid and unmoving. An immediate wave of guilt came over Harry as he stepped over his godfather on the floor. "I'm sorry, Sirius." Harry said "You just don't understand." Harry then turned to Selene, "Let's get out of here." Selene nodded and followed Harry out of the cave.  
  
The two said very little as they made the trip back to Hogwarts. Harry had a million questions to ask Selene but found himself suddenly too tired to ask them. After what seemed like hours they were back in the school and Harry found himself almost mechanically walking to the flight of stairs that led up to his room. As he started to ascend the stairs he felt Selene touch his shoulder and he turned around. "Harry, I want to thank you for tonight." Selene said softly.  
  
Harry nodded as another wave of guilt passed through him.  
  
Selene seemed to sense it and said, "You believed in me enough to save my life. That was brave Harry, very brave." she paused and then added, "and so very much like your mother."  
  
Harry smiled briefly, and then saw the blood that was on Selene' s arm. "I can't believe he was going to kill you." he said nodding towards the blood.  
  
"Don't blame Sirius for what happened tonight." Selene said, "He has been through a lot--more than you or I will ever understand. I was afraid he would act like that, which is why I didn't follow you immediately into the cave."  
  
"Then why did you?" Harry asked.  
  
She smiled softly, "One day you'll understand Harry. Now go to bed."  
  
Harry nodded complacently and went up to his bedroom. He sat down on his bed and glanced at the clock which read 3:45. Harry then fell asleep without even bothering to take off his costume. Perhaps it was the fact that he was so tired that he didn't realize that Selene had left Harry and gone back the way they had came. Maybe if he hadn't been so tired Harry would also have heard the secret door open and close one more time.  
  
  
********  
A couple of notes:  
* I hope that Harry's thoughts intermingled between Selene and Sirius' argument wasn't too confusing, but I wanted to relate the fact that it was all happening very fast for all three of them.  
* I know that Sirius seems like an ass in this chapter, and that all of you Sirius fans out there might hate me. Not to worry, I'm a Sirius fan myself and he will redeem himself.  
*One more thing: You can get to Sirius' cave through Hogsmeade, right? I could've sworn I read that, but it has been a while and I can't find it in my book. If anyone knows if I am wrong about this, please let me know and I'll fix it. -R 


	8. Now and Forever

This chapter is for the romantics out there. I think it might be a little sappy, but who cares? I'm not out to win a Pulitzer.   
  
Chapter 8: Now and Forever  
  
Selene retraced the steps that she and Harry had made twice that night. There were so many thoughts that ran through her mind as she traveled once again back to Hogsmeade. Most of her thoughts centered around how stupid she was to assume that Sirius would have accepted her immediately for who she was. What was worse was the fact that Selene hadn't even thought to tell Harry what would happen when she and Sirius were reunited. Perhaps she had hoped that everything would be like it was before the curse and Azkaban, but she knew now that it would never be. She fought against the feelings of pain and regret that had surfaced and tried unsuccessfully to hold back the tears in her eyes.  
  
Selene stopped before the exit of the tunnel and tried to pull herself together. She wiped her eyes with the hem of her sleeve and leaned against the cool tunnel wall. For the first time in her life she welcomed the coolness, it relaxed her and took the edge off what she was feeling. Anger. That seemed to be her primary emotion at the moment. She wasn't angry at Sirius, she knew she could never be truly angry at him for what he did, or tried to do, tonight. No, her anger was definitely much broader. Selene Evans was angry at the universe. During her years under the Totale Rhumital curse, Selene had been left with only her thoughts to keep her company, to keep her sane. She had held on to the memories of Sirius, Lily, James, and even little Harry to keep her alive. However, some thoughts had threatened to tear her apart. She played the events of the night of her sisters' murder and the consequent actions over and over in her head. Then green light of the death curse was permanently fixed in her mind as was the sight of seeing Sirius being dragged away from her.   
  
"Sirius." Selene whispered softly, feeling her eyes beginning to water. Everything had been against their being together; timing, circumstances, and even her own flesh were barriers in the way of their life together. She pulled her necklace out from underneath her robes and let her finger play with the charm. Perhaps it was fated to happen, she thought. It had all been too perfect, she had been too happy, of course it had to end.   
  
"Rubish." she said out loud, surprised at how loud she had said it. She told herself that she never put much faith in fate, and she wasn't going to start by letting it consume her and keep her away from Sirius. She straightened her robes and wrapped her arms tightly around her and walked into the brisk Hogsmeade air.  
  
*****************************  
  
About an hour or so after Harry had left, Sirius was able to move again. He felt light-headed from the whole affair and sat against his bed with his knees pulled up to his chin and tried once again to find his resolve. He knew that he should leave the cave and go to Hogwarts and warn Dumbledore and make sure that Harry was safe. But he found himself unable and unwilling to leave the cave. The image of the blood on her arm kept coming back into his mind. That and the intensity of her eyes haunted him. Her green eyes were so familiar and he had felt their gaze penetrate him, even now he could feel it.   
  
Sirius stood up slowly, not all of the effects of the curse had worn off yet, and he walked over to a water basin and washed his face with cool water hoping to be rid of those eyes. It helped, a little. He tried to walk over to his bed, but fell before he got there. He smiled ironically at his godson's will to keep her safe and at the punch that the curse had had on him. "Maybe I'm just getting old." he wondered out loud. He finally made it to his bed and sat on the edge, still lost in thought. If Harry had believed in her so much than maybe…no…he mustn't let himself think that it could be Selene…but yet…those eyes.  
  
********************  
  
Selene hadn't realized how late it was until she arrived at the mouth of Sirius' cave and noticed the first hint of dawn's light escaping above the treetops. However, the slow coming of the day hadn't eased the chill of the land. Selene shivered and drew her robes closer to her body. Even with her robe on she could feel the chill reaching her body. She turned towards the cave and paused briefly before going in.   
  
Although Selene had to navigate the dark tunnel carefully, it seemed only moments had passed before she found herself in Sirius' room. He sat on the edge of his bed with his elbows on his knees and his hands in his hair. Selene did not know if he had heard her come in because his eyes never left the floor.  
  
"So you've come back?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yes." she said softly  
  
"To taunt me further?" he asked coldly.  
  
"Taunt?" she asked.   
  
Sirius remained silent.  
  
"I did not come to taunt you Sirius." Selene added.  
  
"Stop saying my name." he said angrily.  
  
"Why? Why can't I say your name Siri-" she cut herself off. "You must have some doubts that I'm not an illusion or you would be at Hogwarts as we speak."  
  
He turned and looked at her for the first time, "Would I?" he asked.  
  
Selene realized then that he probably hadn't regain full mobility from Harry's curse. Without thinking of the threat that he still might be to her she knelt down in front of him so she would be at eye level. "I can prove I am Selene. You know that."  
  
Sirius nodded but didn't respond.  
  
She reached out to touch him but he backed away. Selene withdrew her hand and they sat quietly for a few moments staring at each other and wondering what the other would do next.   
  
Sirius no longer feared that Selene was an illusion or that she was some other creation. Now he was more afraid of the possibility that she was real, he was afraid of what that meant and how it would make him feel.   
  
Selene's thoughts drifted back to fate and the thought that maybe she and Sirius were never meant to be together entered her mind again and it tore her up inside. Sirius had never pulled away from her before and that hurt beyond words. Maybe it would be easier to leave and just let things be as they were meant to be. Her mind then wandered to her memories of what Sirius was like before his imprisonment at Azkaban. He was young and exuberant, willful and perhaps a little cocky. He had made her laugh. It was quite a contrast to the Sirius that sat in front of her now. He looked older than he was and his handsome features were hidden under a weary mask. But he still was Sirius and she still loved him and she realized that she wasn't about to give him up without a fight. She looked at Sirius and he in turn met her gaze. She tried again to touch him and he turned away again, but this time she held him back and touched his cheek with her hand.  
  
The same golden dots appeared on her hand as when she had touched Harry and as they traveled up through her finger tips and onto Sirius' face he jerked back momentarily and then relaxed, keeping his eyes fixed on hers. Selene let the magic continue longer this time and soon both of them were glowing from head to toe. Finally Selene withdrew her hand and Sirius crumpled off the bed and onto the floor in front of her. She caught him before he hit the floor and held him.  
  
Sirius let her hold him for a moment, all doubt of who she is was erased. The magic he had felt coursing through him could have come from Selene alone and no other. The realization that Selene was alive and touching him left him feeling weak which accounted for the fall off the bed. Even now he was just able to keep from shaking. He was torn between wanting to do two things. On one hand he wanted her to go away, he wanted that this night had never happened. Selene being alive brought forth a rush of emotions that he didn't think is was able to handle. On the other hand he wanted to hold on to her, to feel her skin, the touch of her lips, and the smell of her hair. He chose neither and instead managed to stand up and brought Selene up with him.  
  
"I can't." he said.  
  
"Can't what?" Selene asked.  
  
"I can't allow myself to love you." he answered.  
  
"Why not?"   
  
Sirius didn't want to answer the question, but he knew he couldn't avoid it. "You have to understand something, Selene." he paused realizing how strange it was to speak her name again, "Azkaban…it had an effect on me."  
  
"I understand that." she answered calmly.  
  
"No you don't!" he yelled more angrily then he had intended. He took a deep breath and then said, "That place slowly eroded away everything inside me. The dementors sucked the life out of me. First I forgot the little things, like Lily's smile or James' laugh. Then I began to not only forget but become indifferent to others that were in my life. There were only three things that I managed to hold on to in that hell. Revenge. Harry. and…" he paused, "and the thought of you."   
  
Selene started to say something but Sirius cut her off.  
  
"It was hard to keep you alive in my mind. The dementors knew that their was something they weren't able to suck from me so they tried harder. Before too long the only clear image I had of you was the night that I thought Crouch had had you killed. It came to the point that I almost wished that they had sucked that memory too, because of how much it hurt to see them kill you over and over…."  
  
"But they didn't kill me." Selene said.  
  
"In my mind they did. Near the end of my imprisonment all that was left of me was a ravaged animal thinking only about revenge. Revenge for Lily and James and revenge for you. That's why its hard for me to see you again. You being here reminds me of everything happy that I am no longer able to feel."  
  
"You can't tell me that you don't feel anything Sirius. I've seen you with Harry, you protect him because you love him."  
  
"Is that why I do it?" he asked. He smiled bitterly, "I'm not so sure. Perhaps I am nothing more than his perpetual guard dog."  
  
"That's not true."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You do love Harry. You are just afraid to admit it. You are afraid that if you love or trust anyone again that love and trust will betray you."  
  
"It happened once. It could happen again."  
  
Selene stepped forward and took his hand. "Yes. It could. A lot of things could happen. But are you so willing to give up on us just because there is a possibility that things could go wrong? That isn't the Sirius I knew."  
  
He let go of her hand. "The Sirius you knew is dead." Unable to look at her any longer he turned away.   
  
Selene walked over to the entrance of the tunnel. "If that is how you feel Sirius, fine. I don't have the strength to fight this fight anymore. I just want you to know that I love you and that I will love you until the end of my days." She turned and walked out of the door.  
  
Sirius closed his eyes. He didn't know what to do. His heart wanted him to run after her, but he didn't move. The thought of loving her again and then losing her all over was too great a risk. It would be better for him if he just let her go. Sirius moved over to his writing desk and stared at the portrait he had been drawing when Harry had come into the cave. It was of Selene, of course. He had not been able to get her out of his head ever since Harry had first asked him about her. The portrait was a poor representation of her. The features all skewed by the damaged done by the dementors. He sat down and tried to fix the picture with the freshly painted memory of her face and body. He was surprised when he found a tear hit the corner of his paper. What is this? He asked himself, knowing that Sirius Black doesn't cry. He had only done so once before in his life and that was when Lily and James were murdered.   
  
The fallen tear and those that were welling up in his eyes made Sirius angry. Ever since Azkaban he had promised himself that he would be able to control his emotions and actions, and here he stood helpless against what he was feeling.   
  
He walked outside to get some cool air and to clear his thoughts. He stepped out into the grass and stepped on something peculiar. He moved his foot and picked up a silver necklace that held a small gold ring. He removed it from its chain and read its inscription:  
  
"Now and forever…"  
  
Sirius reached inside his own pocket and drew out the ring's match and laid them side by side in his palm. Together the rings now said:  
  
"Now and forever…thou art my love."  
  
Sirius suddenly remembered that there was one other time that he remembered crying, on his wedding day. He wrapped his hand around his ring and Selene's and felt his eyes begin to water. This time he let the tears come. 


	9. More Revelations

Chapter 9: More Revelations  
  
Harry rolled over sluggishly and looked at his clock which read 10:48am. "So much for breakfast." he said quietly and his stomach grumbled in response. He sat up in his bed and silently chided himself for falling asleep in his costume. Not only was it now wrinkled beyond comprehension, but he must have looked like a fool when the others and gotten up and gone to breakfast. Thank God Malfoy wasn't around to see that, he thought. He fumbled around in his bed until he found his glasses. He then splashed some cold water on his face, which left him feeling refreshed and awake. His thoughts drifted back to the previous night and he began to wonder about Selene. He wanted to see her again and ask her some of the questions that lingered in his mind. He pulled on a clean set of clothes and was on his way out of the Gryffindor common room when he ran into Ron and Hermione.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "I see you decided to rejoin the living."  
  
"Good Morning to you too." Harry said with a smile.  
  
"Good Morning?" Ron asked, "How about good afternoon?"  
  
"Very funny." Harry said. "What happened to you?" he asked pointing at Ron's very purple cheek.  
  
"Oh that?" Ron asked trying to hide his bruise, "Malfoy and I has a minor disagreement last night."  
  
"What about?" Harry asked.  
  
Hermione and Ron glanced quickly at each other and Harry could have sworn that they both blushed.  
  
"Draco made a comment about my date." Ron said and put his arm around Hermione "What did he say?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron started to say, but Hermione cut him off, "It's not important." she said.  
  
"What IS important is that I got the opportunity to beat up Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed and threw a few phantom punches.  
  
Harry laughed at Ron's imaginary sparring. "I'm sure Draco didn't know what hit him." he said.  
  
"Yes he did!" Ron shouted. "I don't think he'll ever forget that a Weasley gave him a black eye."  
  
"Why? Because you'll be there to remind him?" Harry asked.  
  
"Damn right." Ron said and they both started laughing.   
  
Hermione wasn't laughing, "You think its funny now Ron, but you won't later tonight."  
  
"Did you have to ruin my day by reminding me?" Ron asked.  
  
"What's tonight?" Harry asked.  
  
"Ron has to go to detention with Draco tonight. Tonight and the nights after for two weeks." Hermione said.  
  
"That's rough." Harry said.  
  
"I know." Ron said, "I guess I'll have to console myself by looking at Malfoy's big black eye." Ron and Harry started laughing again and even Hermione let herself smile.  
  
After the laughter had died down, Ron brought out some fruit and bread that he had snuck out from breakfast for Harry and they sat down in the common room and watched Harry eat.  
  
"What happened to you last night?" Hermione said.  
  
"Yeah. One second you were there and the next you were gone. We were getting worried until we talked to Dumbledore and you had been with him and that everything was okay." Ron said.  
  
"We wanted to see you but Dumbledore said you were busy. It was all very weird." Hermione added.  
  
"So what happened?" Ron asked stealing a grape from Harry.  
  
Harry sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. "It was about Selene." Harry said and watched as Hermione and Ron exchanged glances.  
  
"About her death?" Ron asked.  
  
"No, about it about her being alive." Harry said and then told them about the events that happened the previous night. He told them everything that he remembered, from her entrance at the Costume Ball, to her leaving him at the steps to Gryffindor tower. It felt good to tell someone else about what had happen and he desperately wanted his friends' advice about what to do next. When he had finished his story the three sat in the room staring at each other, not knowing exactly what to say or do next.  
  
"Sirius actually wanted to kill her?" Ron asked dumbfounded.  
  
"Yes." Harry said.  
  
"So she was under the Totale Rhumital curse the entire time?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yes." Harry answered.  
  
"She is really a magmanos?" Ron asked.  
  
"Yes." Harry said. "What to you think about all this?" he asked them both.  
  
"Wow." Ron said and sat back in his chair.  
  
Harry turned to Hermione. "And you?" he asked.  
  
"Wow." she said.  
  
"What are you going to do now?" Ron asked Harry.  
  
"I'm not sure." he said, "I want to talk to Selene, but I don't know quite what to say to her. I have so many questions."  
  
"Harry, are you absolutely sure that Selene is who she claims to be?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Sure enough that he froze Sirius." Ron said and Hermione jabbed him his ribs with her elbow.  
  
Harry ignored him, "I've never been more sure about anything else in my life." he said.  
  
"Then I suggest you go talk to her." she said and then added, "and to Sirius."  
  
Harry swallowed hard. He knew that eventually he would have to face his godfather, but he wasn't eager to do it. What if Sirius was really angry about what Harry did? What if Sirius didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore? Harry was glad to have a living relative, but he didn't think that trading one guardian for another was really a fair trade. "You're right Herm." he said finally.  
  
Hermione seemed to sense his uneasiness, "We will go with you if you want."  
  
Harry smiled and nodded. He finished the last of his fruit and together he, Hermione, and Ron went in search of Dumbledore.  
  
************************  
  
It took Harry, Hermione, and Ron a good hour to track down Dumbledore to ask him where Selene was. They found him staring at the Quidditch trophies in the hall. He turned his head when he saw the three approach.  
  
"Hello Harry. We missed you at breakfast." the headmaster said.  
  
"Sorry about that." Harry said, "I had a late night."  
  
"I suppose so." Dumbledore said.  
  
"You know?" Harry asked surprised.  
  
"Of course." he said with a smile, "Selene told me about your little excursion last night."  
  
"What exactly did she tell you?" Harry asked.  
  
"Everything." he replied.  
  
"Everything?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well as much as I'm sure you have told Ron and Hermione. Don't you think that she would want someone to confide in as well?"  
  
Harry hadn't thought about that. "Could you tell me where she is?" he asked.  
  
"She's sleeping." Dumbledore replied and then asked, "Can I speak to you, alone?"  
  
If it had been anyone but Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione would have protested. However, they knew that if Dumbledore wanted to speak to Harry alone, it was for a good reason and they nodded to Harry to go with Dumbledore.  
  
Harry and the headmaster walked down the hall away from Ron and Hermione. Both were silent for a few minutes. Finally Dumbledore said, "I understand why you would want to tell Ron and Hermione about Selene, but I must ask you not to tell anyone else. It is still quite dangerous for anyone know that she is here."  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
Dumbledore continued, "I believe you can understand the danger of a Death Eater recognizing the fact that we have someone such as Selene at Hogwarts. I know that she has shown you some of magic, but that is really only a small sample of what she can do."  
  
They stopped by an empty classroom and Dumbledore motioned for Harry to enter. Harry sat in one of the desks and Dumbledore sat in a chair facing Harry. "This piece of information I don't want you to tell anyone, even Ron and Hermione. Can you promise me that?"  
  
Harry nodded again, Dumbledore studied his face for a moment and then continued, "Crouch's old office was broken into two nights ago. Everything was torn to shreds and whoever did it was very obviously looking for something in particular. No one is quite sure what the intruders were looking for."  
  
"But you are." Harry said.  
  
Dumbledore smiled, "You are very observant Mr. Potter. Yes I do believe I know what they were searching for. They were searching for Selene."  
  
"How can that be?" Harry asked. "I thought everyone that knew about Selene thought she was dead, except for Crouch and, well, he IS dead."  
  
"Apparently a Death Eater found out about her, perhaps even Voldemort knew that she was alive. I only came to this conclusion when I remembered that about a year ago a book was stolen from the Ministry. This book had been taken from a Death Eater who was found out not long after your parents' death. This book contained, among a great many other things, how to manipulate the power of a magmanos."  
  
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.  
  
"Although the magmani magic is a part of a person such as Selene, it is also a separate entity. The book which was stolen would allow someone to play with that power and the magmanos would not be able to control or contain his or her own magic."   
  
"So someone could make Selene do something that she didn't want to do?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes. But there is something else. There is one spell in the book that is so complicated and dangerous that only a few wizards could master it. This spell enables the caster to coax the magic out of a magmanos and into himself. Voldemort is the only wizard of the Death Eaters that has the ability to perform this spell, and if he was able to get his hands on the power that Selene has, it would be a great evil to us."  
  
"What would happen to Selene?" Harry asked.  
  
"Although the magic of the magmani can be separated from their bodies, magmani cannot live without it. If Voldemort was able to do this to Selene it would kill her."  
  
"Is this why Selene came to Hogwarts?"  
  
"No." Dumbledore said, "She came here to see you. She doesn't know about the book being stolen or the break in at the Ministry. I haven't told her yet, there's enough on her mind."  
  
Harry nodded, "When can I see her?" he asked.  
  
"I'll let you know when she wakes up. Until then don't linger on this. I assure you Hogwarts is protected and so is Selene."  
  
Harry got up and walked towards the door.  
  
"Remember that this is our secret." Dumbledore called after him.  
  
"I will." Harry said and walked out the door.  
  
***************************  
  
Although Harry tried not to think about Selene during the rest of the day, he found it impossible not to. In fact, the harder he tried not to think about Selene the more he found himself thinking about her.  
  
Hermione and Ron realized that there was something Dumbledore had told Harry that had upset him, but they decided not to ask him about it. "If he wants to tell us, he will." was what Ron had said and Hermione had agreed. They tried their best to keep whatever was bugging Harry off his mind, but nothing seem to work.   
  
After the fourth game of wizard's chess (which Harry had lost miserably), Hermione finally asked Harry something that had been bugging her for hours, "Harry?" she asked, "Which way did Selene go when she left you last night?"  
  
Harry looked up from the chessboard, "I'm not sure, I was really tired, but I think she went right."  
  
"Right? Are you sure?"  
  
"Pretty sure."  
  
"Was it your right or her right?"  
  
"What does it matter?" Ron asked.  
  
Hermione ignored him. "Harry?"  
  
"It was my right, when she left she went back the way we came."  
  
"Back towards Hogsmeade." Hermione said.  
  
"She went back to see Sirius." Harry said finally understanding.  
  
"Well, it couldn't have gone too badly." Ron said   
  
Hermione and Harry gave him a questioning look.  
  
"Well she isn't dead." Ron said.  
  
"He's right." Hermione said. "He could have phrased it better, but he's right."  
  
"Do you think Sirius believes her?" Harry asked.  
  
"Maybe." Hermione said.  
  
"You should--" Ron started to say something but was cut off by a knock on the door.   
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked over to the door and opened it. Selene was standing outside, the Pink Lady was lecturing her about passwords. Harry opened the door wider so Selene could come in.  
  
Selene took Ron's big fluffy chair by the fire and Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat on the couch facing her.   
  
"How are you?" Harry asked.  
  
"I'm much better, sleep does wonders for the soul."  
  
An awkward pause followed. The three on the couch wanted to ask about Selene's second visit with Sirius, but none of them was sure how to ask her about it.  
  
After another moment Selene smiled, "I assume you want to ask me about what happened last night after I left Harry."  
  
The three nodded.   
  
"Don't look so embarrassed." she said, "That is the reason I came up here. I knew that one of you would figure out that I went back, and I wanted to tell you what happened."  
  
"How did you know?" Harry asked.  
  
"I've watched you three long enough to realize that much doesn't get past you three. Harry, I made a mistake last night by not telling you how Sirius might react to me, and I don't want to leave you in the dark again."  
  
"Ron, we should leave." Hermione said.  
  
"No. Please stay." Selene said, "I'm sure Harry wants you here, and besides he'd tell you anyway." she added with a smile.  
  
Selene focused her attention back on Harry, "Harry, Sirius and I were married before your parents' death."  
  
Harry was aware that his mouth had dropped, as well as those of Ron and Hermione. "You two are married?" Ron asked.  
  
"We kept it a secret from everyone, only James and Lily knew. We knew that someone had found out that I was a magmanos and we had to be careful. It was difficult for the both of us. I wasn't able to adopt his name, we couldn't wear our rings in public or even live in the same house. Yet at the time, we were happy. We knew that we were married and that we loved each other and that was all that mattered. But that is all different now."  
  
"Different how?" Harry asked.  
  
"Last night I proved to Sirius that I was Selene. I had hoped that he would have believed it was me, without me having to use my magic, but he is as stubborn as ever."  
  
"So if he knows it is you, what does that mean? Are you two back together?" Ron asked.  
  
"Sirius' time in Azkaban has left an ugly mark on him. Everything he loved he lost and is scared to death to loose it again. That's why he has a hard time with people now, and even with you Harry. He is afraid of getting close to anyone, because he could loose them."  
  
"What are you going to do?" Harry asked, "Are you going to see him again?"  
  
"No." Selene said sadly. "Although I love him and he is still my husband, I will not go see him again."  
  
"Is that the end of you two then?" Harry asked annoyed, "Are you two just going to give up?"  
  
"Let me finish." Selene said. "I will not go see Sirius, until he is ready. When he is able to accept the fact that he can't go through life without caring about anyone, then I will go and see him again."  
  
"What if he doesn't" Hermione asked.  
  
"I don't know. I just hope he does." she said.  
  
Another silence followed, and all were aware that the conversation about Selene and Sirius was finished. Finally Hermione broke the silence,  
  
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked Selene.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You said that you had watched us enough to know that were could figure things out. What did you mean by that."  
  
"Nothing slips by you, does it?" Selene smiled as Hermione blushed at the compliment. "Well when I first came to Hogwarts I was afraid to see you Harry. I knew that you wouldn't remember me, and I didn't know if my presence in your life would do you more harm than good. So I watched you, Hermione, and Ron through a disguise."  
  
"What kind of disguise?" Harry asked.  
  
"A very good one." she answered "One that would not be recognized by anyone looking for a magmanos…"  
  
"Or a woman." Hermione finished.  
  
"Exactly." Selene said.  
  
"What? I'm confused." Harry said.  
  
"She's a…" Hermione said.  
  
"Animagus." Ron finished.  
  
Of course! Harry thought. Of course Selene would be an animagus, someone with as much magic as Selene could have easily developed the ability and it would come in handy for one who always had to hide from people.  
  
"That's how you got in to Hogwarts without being noticed." Harry said.  
  
Selene nodded.  
  
"What animal are you?" Ron asked.  
  
Selene stood up and the three on the couch watched as her slender frame shortened and her arms became wings. Shortly where Selene had been standing, there was now a small bird. The bird was about the size of two fists and was a brilliant red all over, except for the tips of her wings which were a flaming orange colour. Selene flew from the chair over to Harry and perched on his leg. She was absolutely the most beautiful bird that Harry had ever seen. Selene left Harry's knee and flew to Hermione's shoulder and then landed on Ron's head. The three giggled, and Selene returned to her chair and was herself once again.  
  
The atmosphere had lightened immensely and even Selene giggled as Ron tried to rearrange his hair.   
  
"I have another question." Harry asked. "Is Sirius upset about the Petrificus Totalus curse?  
  
"No. He isn't upset. I think he understands why you did it."  
  
Harry felt like a great weight had been lifted it from him.   
  
Hermione spoke next, "Harry said that you didn't seem to be affected by the cold at Hogsmeade last night, all the things that I have read about magmani have said that they are extremely sensitive to the cold."  
  
"You are correct, Hermione, I am sensitive to the cold."  
  
"Then why weren't you affected?"  
  
"That's an interesting story." Selene said. "It began when-----"  
  
She never finished, as the four were silenced by screams coming from downstairs. 


	10. Abduction

Chapter 10: Abduction  
  
  
It had only taken Sirius a few minutes after finding Selene's ring to decide that he had to go see her, however it had taken him half the day to work up the courage to do so. "Will she forgive me?" he asked himself over and over again. Deep down he thought that she would, but part of him was still scared to death about caring so deeply about someone again. He fought against the urge to stay in his cave forever and just lock the world out and Selene with it. Sirius laughed at the irony that he wasn't as terrified of Voldemort or even of death, than he was of making the trip to Hogwarts to see Selene. Nonetheless he made up his mind to go and left his cave in the late afternoon.  
  
He had decided that it would be best if he traveled in his animagus form. There was still the danger that he would be recognized, a danger that had increased tenfold by the high amount of Death Eater activity recently. Besides, he could move faster as a dog then as a man. The need for speed surprised Sirius. Although he wanted to see Selene again, he knew that she wouldn't be leaving Hogwarts for some time, yet Sirius found himself running all the way there.   
  
He stopped by a small stream to catch his breath and take a drink. He was about to start moving again when he picked up a peculiar scent in the air. It was faint, if he hadn't been in his dog form, Sirius wouldn't have been able to detect it. The smell was sour like milk that had just turned and also nauseatingly sweet. However it wasn't the stench that made Sirius' stomach turn, but the realization of its origin. Sirius had only smelled that particular scent when dark magic was being used, and dark magic meant Death Eaters.  
  
Sirius ran following the smell realizing and fearing that the smell was headed directly to Hogwarts.  
  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Selene leapt from their chairs and ran towards the door. Their curiosity about the screams overwhelmed their fear of what could be causing them and they made their way slowly to where the screams were coming from.   
  
The hairs on the back of Harry's neck stood on end, and he hoped against hope that Death Eaters weren't waiting below for him. He knew Voldemort couldn't be down there because his scar didn't even tingle. He rubbed it to make sure.  
  
"Harry is your scar hurting?" Hermione asked grabbing his arm as they descended the staircase.  
  
"No. It doesn't hurt at all."  
  
"Nevertheless I think you three should stay here." Selene said. "I'll go check it out and come back and get you if everything is okay."  
  
The three nodded and watched Selene walk down the stairs. "It is probably some stupid Slytherin prank." Ron said, but his face showed that he didn't believe it. "Probably." Hermione added trying to make Ron and herself feel a little better. Harry knew instinctively that it had nothing to do with the Slytherins. He leaned back against the railing on the staircase and closed his eyes, hoping that he was wrong, that it was just some silly prank, while on the other hand knowing that he wasn't.   
  
As if an answer to his fear, they heard another scream, and recognized the scream as being Ginnny's. Ron, moving with the speed of a protective brother, threw all caution aside and ran down the staircase, which was beginning to change positions. Harry ran after him followed by Hermione. Ron jumped over the small gap left by the moving staircase and continued running toward the scream. When Harry got to the gap it had gotten significantly wider and he had to make a running leap to land on the platform. However it was much wider by the time Hermione got there and there was no way she could make the jump. Harry turned around and yelled at Ron to stop, but he was either to far away to hear, or he just didn't stop to listen. Harry turned back to Hermione uncertain as to whether he should follow Ron.  
  
"Go on!" Hermione yelled.  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Yes. I'll find another way."  
  
Harry nodded and ran after Ron. Harry ran as fast as he could but was unable to gain any ground on Ron. He was breathing hard and had a queasy feeling in his stomach. "Ron wait!" Harry gasped, but there was no response. As Harry approached the main hall, he heard whimpers of students mixed in with cries and yells from teachers. Harry forced himself to slow in order to approach cautiously. He peered around a corner hesitantly, and turned quickly away at what he saw. His stomach dropped and he mouthed, "Oh please God, not again."  
  
******************************************************************  
  
Sirius' sides were aching, but he quickened his stride anyway, fearing what would happen if he got there too late. The school had just come into view and with it a new sense of dread had taken root inside of Sirius. He topped a hill and stopped abruptly, unsure of which route to take. The scent was strongest to the east, but if he went east towards the main door, and their Death Eaters there, he would most certainly be killed. And he wasn't any good to anyone dead.   
  
On the other hand he could approach from the west, from the back door. Perhaps he could surprise them. However, it would take a good deal longer to run halfway around the school grounds and then back again through the school, and time wasn't something that Sirius felt that he had an abundance of. To the east then, be what may, he had to get to Hogwarts fast.   
  
So with the stealth of a hunter, Sirius ran towards Hogwarts.  
  
************************************************************  
  
Harry closed his eyes, swallowed hard and forced himself to look at the main hall again, if for nothing else but to assure himself of what it was that he saw. He took a longer look this time and then turned back out sight and pressed himself hard against the stone wall.  
  
Death Eaters. Five of them. They were standing around in a circle, protecting someone who was in the middle. Four of them had their wands raised. The fifth was holding Ginny and had a knife to her throat. They were cloaked and hooded, not even their eyes were visible from underneath their hoods. Around them were several students and professors lying on the ground, Harry wasn't sure if they were dead or alive, but he wouldn't wager on them being alive.  
  
Professors stood between the Death Eaters and the rest of the students who had been unfortunate enough to be in the main hall when they had appeared. "How had they gotten through?" Harry asked himself. After all the precautions that Dumbledore said had been implemented, how did they get in? Then two more questions haunted Harry, "Where was Ron? Where was Selene?"  
  
His second question was answered before the first. A small red bird landed beside Harry and immediately transformed into Selene. She looked at him with sad eyes, "I'm sorry." she said.  
  
"Sorry? What for?"  
  
"I have brought this evil here."  
  
"What do you mean?" Harry asked confused and worried.  
  
"They are looking for me Harry."  
  
"How do you know that? They probably don't even know you are here--"  
  
"Bring us the Red Witch." A hooded voice demanded.  
  
"They know Harry. They want me to go with them."  
  
"You aren't possibly considering it are you?" Harry asked.  
  
"Let her go!" Ron's voice echoed from within the main hall. Harry and Selene both peered around a corner for a closer look. Ron was standing in front of the Death Eater who held his sister and had his wand pointed at the cloaked figure. All five of the Death Eaters laughed as Ron tried to cast a feeble spell that was easily blocked. One of the four mumbled a spell and Ron was thrown across the room and into the group of professors and students.  
  
"We want the witch now!" The Death Eater demanded once again.  
  
Upon seeing Ron thrown across the room Harry started running towards his friend. Selene tried to hold him back, but he slipped from underneath her grasp. He found Ron being helped up by some students and he looked a little dazed but otherwise okay. Only then did Harry realize that giving up his hiding place was probably not the best of ideas. He hoped that the Death Eaters hadn't seen him, but he soon realized that they had. He felt himself being pulled to them surrounded by a green haze. He felt like he was in a dream in which he was trying to run but couldn't get his legs to respond. Before he knew it a cold hand grabbed him by the collar and held him.  
  
Now within their grasp Harry saw who they were protecting inside their circle. It was Dumbledore. They weren't protecting him as much as they were guarding him. Dumbledore was also dazed and sat on the ground looking intently at the floor. "That's why no one had tried to use their wands on the Death Eaters. They don't want to hurt Dumbledore." Harry thought.   
  
Harry then felt the icy fingers that gripped his collar move up and grip his neck. The Death Eater lifted Harry off his feet with the one hand clasped tightly around Harry's neck choking him.  
  
"Where is she?" a rasping voice asked.  
  
Harry didn't answer and wrapped his hands on the hooded figures hands and tried desperately to loosen the grip that was choking him. The hand brought Harry closer to its body and Harry peered into the hood and saw nothing but blackness, "I'll crush your throat if you don't tell me little boy." the voiced demanded.  
  
"Enough!" he heard Selene shout from somewhere behind him.  
  
The grip loosened immediately and Harry fell to the floor gasping for much needed breaths. Ron and a few others tried to reach him, but one wave of the Death Eater's wands sent them sprawling backwards. Harry looked up and saw Selene come into the main hall, her eyes were fierce and her fists clenched.  
  
"Let them go and I will come with you." she said.  
  
The dark figures snickered and let Ginny go. Once free she ran to Ron who greeted her with a hug. Another Death Eater picked up Dumbledore and shoved him into the crowd where he was immediately surrounded by a dozen concerned professors.   
  
"Let Harry go as well." Selene said.  
  
"No." hissed a Death Eater, "He's part of the package. We were sent to collect you and the boy."  
  
"Then you will get neither." Selene said and sent a shower of red flames towards the Death Eaters. One of them caught fire and fumbled backwards trying to put his robes out. The others blocked the red wave. Selene started to send another but four wands came out and the same green haze surrounded her as it had Harry, leaving Selene unable to move.  
  
"No!" Harry screamed and tried to make his way to her. Two hands seized him by the shoulders and forced him back. He managed to escape the grasp and ran towards Selene. He thought that he had made it when he felt a sharp pain behind his left ear, and then fell watching the world around him turn black.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
By the time Sirius had reached the gate he knew that he was already too late. He slipped in unnoticed as everyone's attentions were directed at about twenty students who were in hysterics. He looked around for Dumbledore knowing that he would be somewhere close. Instead he found Snape.  
  
"Look who finally decided to show up." Snape said. "A fine job you did protecting Harry."  
  
The urge to attack Snape was overcome by Sirius' concern for Harry. He turned his head to make sure no one was looking and transformed back into a man again. "What happened?" he asked.  
  
Snape looked at him coldly, deciding whether or not to tell Sirius anything, but the look in Sirius' eyes implied that he wasn't in the mood to be toiled with. Snape cleared his throat, "Five Death Eaters entered the main hall and held Dumbledore and the Weasley girl hostage. We thought that would be the end of both of them until the Death Eaters took your godson and that Selene woman away. The kept calling her the Red Witch. Why do you expect that is?"  
  
Sirius glared at him. Snape had always believed Selene to be something more than a mere witch, and it took a lot of effort to keep him from discovering the truth. "How did he get to them?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Selene tried to exchange herself for the girl and Dumbledore. Your rather unintelligent godson practically handed himself over."  
  
"That's not true!" Ron yelled approaching the two men, with Hermione behind him. Ron turned to Sirius, "The Death Eaters threw me into the crowd and Harry came to make sure I was okay. That is when they spotted him and grabbed him. He took a nasty bump on the head before the Death Eaters left with him."  
  
  
"How did they leave?" Sirius thought to himself. Surely if they had left the way they had come, he would have smelled or even seen them. "Where's Dumbledore?" he asked turning back to Snape.  
  
"He's in his office I suppose. I suppose he would want to see you, although we already know how helpful you appear to be."  
  
Sirius didn't even seem to hear the comment as he ran upstairs to Dumbledore's office. However Snape did receive two glares from Ron and Hermione. After Snape left to tend to the chaos in the main hall Ron turned to Hermione, "Lets follow Sirius."  
  
"I don't know if that's such a good idea. All students are supposed to go up to their dorms for a head count." Hermione said.  
  
"Don't you want to know what happened here? To Harry? To Selene?"  
  
Hermione nodded and reluctantly followed Ron up the stairs. 


	11. Decisions

(Note: I had actually planned to have this chapter up earlier, but I ran into a problem with the story that needed to be worked out before posting. I think I've got it now. For those action fans out there, hold tight, it's coming. I just wanted to make sure I had all the groundwork laid down first. Hope you enjoy! -R)  
  
  
Chapter 11: Decisions   
  
"I just don't understand how this could happen!" From behind the closed door to Dumbledore's office Ron and Hermione heard Sirius yell loudly. They could barely make out Dumbledore's end of the conversation, because he, unlike Sirius, had managed to keep calm and quiet.  
  
Sirius on the other hand had become enraged and made it evident that he didn't care who heard him. "Do you have any idea how they got into the school? This protected school? The very same school where you promised me that Harry would be safe!" Sirius yelled and slammed his fist down on the corner of a table, making the objects on top dance momentarily.  
  
"Sirius, If you'd just calm down long enough to let me explain." Dumbledore calmly said, "We will not be able to find to Harry and Selene any faster with you screaming."  
  
Sirius nodded and sat down in chair in front of Dumbledore. Although his face remained calm his clenched fists revealed that he was far from it. Dumbledore, satisfied that this was as calm as Sirius was going to get, began to explain what happened. "One of Voldemort's informants managed to get into the Ministry. Once he was in, he was able to supply information to Voldemort and the rest of Death Eaters about Hogwarts. The spells that we use to protect the school were part of the information that was leaked."  
  
"Who?" Sirius asked.  
  
"I'm not sure, but the Ministry knows. They are interrogating him as we speak. They believe that in a few days they will be able to tell us where they took Selene and Harry."  
  
"Days?" Sirius stood up so quickly and knocked over the chair he had been sitting in, causing the two eavesdroppers outside to jump. "We don't have days! We need to know now!"  
  
"I completely understand that, Sirius. Now please sit down!" Dumbledore said firmly, and Sirius picked up the chair and complied. Dumbledore continued, "The Death Eaters were unable to break all the protective spells that surround Hogwarts. Adava Arvadek remained intact."  
  
"That explains the lack of…um…bodies." Sirius said.  
  
"Adava Arvadek?" Ron whispered.  
  
"It's a counter curse." Hermione whispered, "It protects a building and the occupants within from the Avada Kedavra curse. It is very advanced and takes a great deal of willpower and magic to keep the spell from breaking down."  
  
"That's why Dumbledore has been looking so tired lately." Ron whispered.  
  
Hermione nodded and then placed a finger on her lips indicating that they should stop talking and keep listening.  
  
"Adava Arvadek isn't just a guard against Avada Kedavra, Sirius, it also prohibits the use of magical means for entering the school. That means that they could not have entered by merely Apparating." Dumbledore said.  
  
"But I saw no signs of them coming or going on foot."   
  
Dumbledore motioned for Sirius to be quiet. "However, if the magic they used was already in place before the Adava Arvadek spell was cast, that magic would have been protected along with the rest of Hogwarts."   
  
"But what?" Sirius thought. What magic could stay stationary long enough to be implanted in the school and to wait until the magic was needed. Something that wouldn't stick out, and that could transport a group of people at the same time… "A portkey." Sirius finally said.  
  
"Three of them, if not more." Dumbledore said and reached into his desk and pulled out two textbooks, one from a Divination class, and one looked like it could be from a Potions class.  
  
"Small and harmless looking aren't they. Left in the right place no one would have noticed them." Dumbledore said. "One left with the Death Eaters and these two were found by other exits of the school. I assume they were backups in case something went wrong."  
  
Sirius sat on the corner of Dumbledore's desk and looked closely at the books. Dumbledore noticed a familiar spark of anger and betrayal in Sirius' eyes. He covered the books with the white cloth and continued, "When I heard the Ministry had apprehended a rat among their ranks I knew that somehow they were going to try to get into Hogwarts. I spent several days walking down the halls looking for things that could be portkeys. I thought I had checked everyplace, but apparently not." he said nodding towards the books.   
  
"When I heard the screams I knew…." he paused and took a long deep breath, "I knew that they had come. I got to main hall quickly, but my efforts to keep the wall that protects this school made my reflexes…a bit slow. Before I knew it they hit me with a confusion curse, which would account for my seemingly senseless staring at the floor. If I had just acted a little bit smarter…."  
  
"No one blames you, Albus."  
  
"I do. And that's enough. However I did notice a textbook in their hands. That's when I figured it out."  
  
Dumbledore's face lightened momentarily, "The good news is that the Adava Arvadek protection still stands. I only lifted it for a short time to allow you to come in." Sirius looked at him questionably. "Yes my friend your animagus form would have prevented you from entering Hogwarts as well." Dumbledore said.  
  
"Who do you think put the portkeys in the school?" Sirius asked.  
  
"I don't know. It could have been anybody. That isn't important now, what is important is that we find Selene and Harry before…." he trailed off.  
  
"Let me have a portkey then. If they were indeed backup plans then it stands to reason that one of these would take me to where the other one took the Death Eaters." Sirius said.  
  
"I don't think that is a good idea. Voldemort would have realized that these two would eventually be found. That portkey would indeed take you to where the Death Eaters took Harry and Selene, but it could be a trap. Voldemort could have left several Death Eaters in order to make sure that no one came through….alive."  
  
"I realize that. But do you have any other ideas. Time is running out for them, and if Voldemort is planning on draining Selene's power, then time is also running out for us."  
  
Dumbledore nodded. He knew what Sirius was saying was true, and he didn't want anything to happen to Harry or Selene. But he also didn't want Sirius to be killed either. The old wizard had always been fond of the younger one's spirit and determination. Losing Sirius as well as Harry and Selene would be a blow to his spirit to great to recover from. However, if Voldemort was able to attain Selene's power then the destruction that he would be able to cause would stretch far beyond that of the destruction of Harry, Selene, or Sirius. As much as he hated to admit it, Sirius was right.  
  
"Very well." he said uncovering the portkeys again. "Be careful."  
  
"I will."  
  
"Bring them back."  
  
Sirius reached out and grasped the Divination book, "I intended to." and then he was gone.  
  
**********  
  
After Ron and Hermione were sure that they had heard all of what was going on behind the large door, they retreated from the door and sat on the floor with their backs against the walls.  
  
"Now what?" Ron whispered.  
  
"Now we go back to our rooms, before we're expelled."  
  
"I feel so useless just sitting around here." Ron argued.  
  
"Don't you think that I feel the same way?" Hermione asked. "Do you think that I don't care about what happens to Selene or Harry? Well I do. It's just that I think that Sirius, Dumbledore, and everyone else would be able to deal with the situation faster if they didn't have to worry about us crawling underneath their feet."  
  
"But what if Sirius needs help?"   
  
"Sirius survived for over a decade in Azkaban. He will be okay."  
  
"What if he isn't? What if he gets injured or killed? If that happens than no one will be able to help Harry. The Ministry of Magic said that it would take days to get any information out of that Death Eater they haven in custody. I don't want to think about what would happen to Harry in the next few days."  
  
For the first time in her life, Hermione had no response.  
  
"I'm not suggesting that we get involved, Hermione. I just think that we should go along in case anything happens, and that way there would be somebody to go get help." Ron said.  
  
"How do you suppose we do that?"  
  
"With Harry's invisibility cloak. That way no one will be able to see us and we can keep out of harm's way."  
  
A few seconds passed before either one of them said anything, "I can't believe that I'm actually considering this." Hermione said.  
  
"Good. You wait here and consider. I'll be right back." Ron said and left.  
  
Hermione waited by Dumbledore's door, thinking hard about the decision she was about to make and catching her breath every time she thought she heard someone coming down the hall or Dumbledore coming to the door. Every time that she thought that she had logic under control and that she was going to tell Ron where he could put his idea, she kept thinking about Harry and Selene. She knew how much Harry feared and hated Voldemort and how tired he was of fighting him. It seemed that each time Harry thought he was safe, Voldemort was always there to screw up his life. She also thought about how Selene had struggled for so many years to stay alive, and the idea she would be killed by Voldemort or some other Death Eater made her ill. She knew she had to do something to help. She heard footsteps and turned to see Ron returning with Harry's invisibility cloak.  
  
"Well?" he asked.  
  
"Let's do it." she said.  
  
Ron looked at her as if he didn't believe she'd said that. "You've decided already? I had prepared a whole speech to try to convince you."  
  
"I'm convinced." she said.  
  
"Apparently." Ron said. He motioned towards the door, "How are we going to get in there?"   
  
"We'll wait to Dumbledore comes out." Hermione said, "And then we can slip in behind him." she added pulling the cloak around her.  
  
"Good idea." Ron said and followed suit.  
  
Their wait wasn't a long one. Hermione and Ron sat invisible by the door for only a few minutes before the door opened and Dumbledore walked out. Hermione panicked for a moment, thinking that maybe Dumbledore would take the portkey with him, but luckily it appeared that he hadn't.  
  
Before the door shut all the way, the two slipped in. The room was dark and they hit every corner of every table before they were able to make their way over to Dumbledore's desk. They found the last portkey sitting on top of it, covered by a white cloth.  
  
"Is that it?" Ron asked.  
  
"Sshh!"  
  
"Sorry. Is that it?" Ron whispered quietly.  
  
"I think so." Hermione said and carefully drew back the linen.  
  
"It looks just like one of our textbooks!" Ron exclaimed and was nudged hard in the ribs by Hermione telling him once more to be quiet.  
  
"It's supposed to." she said. "Are you sure about this?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Together they placed their hands on the book. Hermione looked at Ron, "You know that is probably the stupidest--" the rest of her words were whisked away as the two disappeared from the room. 


	12. The Chase

Chapter 12: The Chase  
  
  
Sirius Black knew something was wrong. Only moments before he had been standing in Dumbledore's office with the portkey in hand. Now he had no idea where he was. In the fading hours of daylight he was able to see that he was in a large field surrounded by a dense forest. The wind blew slightly, making the tall grass seemingly roll and crest like the waves of an ocean. The rustling of the grass was the only noise that Sirius heard, and that was what concerned him. He knew he should be able to hear animals in the forest or birds in the air, but all was silent. Sirius stood rigid, but prepared to move quickly in case any challenge presented itself. His eyes scanned the area before him and in the distance he saw something blowing in the wind. Sirius approached the object cautiously, wand gripped tightly in his hand.   
  
After a few yards, he realized that the object was cloth and he picked up his pace. Upon getting closer he immediately recognized it as being Selene's cloak. Sirius picked it up and examined it. There were no holes or tears, it appeared that it had merely been discarded, but Sirius knew that was impossible. Selene never went anywhere without that cloak. The cloak had been a gift from Lily, and it was quite rare in that between the layers of cloth, was a thin layer of dragon hide. Although the cloak was thin, it was extremely warm and impervious to the elements. "They must have stripped her of it." Sirius thought to himself. He surveyed the area around him and found obvious signs of a struggle. The grass and been trampled and the soil displaced, and were also a few scraps of black material on the ground.  
  
"Death Eater robes." Sirius said aloud. He knew Selene would never willingly go with them, and they must have taken off her cloak in order to get control of her. The air was brisk, but not cold. Still it would have weakened Selene enough for the Death Eaters to manage her.  
  
Sirius gripped the fabric tightly, trying to control a renewed anger and hatred for the things that took Harry and Selene. He stood up, rolled up the cloak, and wrapped it within his own robes. Instinct told him that they had headed into the forest, and since there was no evidence to the contrary, he started that way. He had almost reached the edge of the forest when the attack came.  
  
Sirius felt something hit him on his back which knocked him to the ground. He had let go of his wand in the fall and it lay about a foot in front of him. Without thinking he reached for it and felt a boot come down on his hand grinding his knuckles into the earth. Sirius screamed, more in anger than pain, and looked up at the owner of the boot. He then realized the he was face to face with a Death Eater.  
  
He heard a scratchy laugh radiating from somewhere within that dark hood, and watched as the Death Eater brought his wand up and pointed it at Sirius' face. Sirius felt for the small dagger that he had hidden underneath his robes.   
"I could have killed you." The Death Eater said.  
  
Sirius made no reply.  
  
"We knew you would find a way here sooner or later. All we had to do was wait."  
  
"We?" Sirius thought, "That means there is at least one more." He reached into his robes with his left hand, still looking for the dagger, his right was still under the boot of his adversary.  
  
"We watched you find the girl's cloak and then walk right to us. I could have killed you at any time, but this way is more fun. Don't you agree Mr. Black?"  
  
Sirius looked up at the Death Eater, but made no reply. All his efforts focused on retrieving his blade.  
  
The Death Eater knelt down, adding more pressure and pain to Sirius' hand. Sirius clenched his teeth. He suddenly felt the knife and began to pull it slowly out.  
  
"You're not the conversationalist are you?" the Death Eater taunted, "Oh well, maybe this will make you talk."  
  
Sirius was about to make a move when a purplish light radiated from the Death Eaters' wand and when it hit Sirius, he felt his whole body convulse, feeling every muscle in his body spasm. It felt like his insides were being pulled together in one ball and the muscles in his limbs felt like they were tearing. He dropped the knife, unable to hold on to anything. He was at the verge of passing out when the Death Eater stopped.  
  
"Didn't like that did you?"  
  
Sirius spat into the ground, he tried to regain control of his body, but it was shaking uncontrollably from the spell.  
  
"The girl didn't either. She was a little more resilient than you though. Took her a whole thirty minutes to loose consciousness. At the end, she was pleading for us to kill her."  
  
That was perhaps the worst thing that the Death Eater could have said to Sirius. He took a deep breath and through his rage was able to tame his shaking body.  
  
"Just hurry up and kill Black. I'm ready to leave." Sirius heard a voice say. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another hooded figure emerge from the woods.  
  
"I'm just having some fun. A cat with his rat." The Death Eater spit out the last word harshly into Sirius' face.  
  
"Did anybody follow you?" The second Death Eater said, reaching down and picking up Sirius' fallen wand. He examined it, and then broke it in half.   
  
Sirius looked at him with fury.  
  
The first Death Eater released Sirius' hand, but only to administer a hard kick to his ribs. The force caused Sirius to roll over on his fallen knife. At first Sirius thought the weapon might be discovered, but luckily it was still concealed underneath his robe. "He asked you a question!" The first Death Eater barked.  
  
"Of course no one followed me! The second portkey is here with me. You would have seen anyone else come through with me!" Sirius lied.  
  
The Death Eaters exchanged glances. "Very well." said the second who then turned to his accomplice, "finish him."  
  
The first nodded and turned back to Sirius. "I will enjoy this." He raised his arm but before he was able to get a word out, Sirius was able to get a grip on his knife and with his good hand he plunged it into the leg of his attacker.  
  
The Death Eater howled and fell to the ground. Sirius tore the dagger out of his assailant's leg and retreated to the trees. The second Death Eater sent a whirl of curses at him, and Sirius only just managed to get out of the way.  
  
The second figure kicked the one on the ground. "Idiot!" he yelled. He then ran into the forest after Sirius and hissed, "Black, you are only making this harder on yourself. We were just going to kill you, but I guarantee that I will cause you to scream before this night is over!"  
  
Sirius moved swiftly and in silence. When Sirius had led the Death Eater deeper into the forest, he doubled back. His plan was to sneak around the Death Eater and to catch him off guard. He clutched his only weapon to his side and turned to follow the Death Eater who in turn thought he was following Sirius. "The rat has become the cat." he mused silently to himself.   
  
The Death Eater was constantly tripping over fallen limbs. Sirius on the other hand moved like a hunter through the woods. His days in his animagus form had taught him some of the finer aspects of tracking….and hunting. Finally Sirius was able to make his move. As the Death Eater picked himself of the ground once more, Sirius threw a fallen branch to the right of him that made the Death Eater turn and point his wand. The Eater cackled, believing he had found his prey. Suddenly Sirius appeared from the left and plunged his small knife into the back of the Death Eater. With a howl he fell to the ground, and Sirius was soon on top of him.   
  
The Death Eater's robes made it hard for Sirius to see how bad he had wounded him. He took the knife out and saw a small but constant stream of blood dampen the black robes. Sirius thought for a moment about plunging the knife back into the Death Eater, but instead placed the blade underneath the hood and up against the neck of the black figure. "Where are they?" Sirius asked.  
  
When the Death Eater made no reply he pressed the knife in and felt a small trickle of blood fall onto his fingers. The Death Eater hissed, "I can't tell you…he would…"  
  
"Do you think your situation is any improved with me?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Kill me then."  
  
"Tell me where they are."   
  
"No."  
  
"Fine." Sirius considered killing the man, but decided against it. With his blade securely against his neck, he forced the Death Eater to his feet. "Where's your wand?"  
  
The Death Eater stood still. Sirius rummaged through his robes and fished out the wand. He preformed a binding curse on the Death Eater and then broke the wand in half, aware of the irony that the Death Eater had done the same to his only a short time before. He then started walking back towards the opening of the forest.  
  
"What are you doing?" the Eater asked.  
  
"Leaving you for your master…" Sirius said with a wry smile.  
  
"You can't."  
  
"Watch me."   
  
The Death Eater started laughing and Sirius started to turn towards him, but decided against it, and kept walking. The Death Eater continued to laugh as he grabbed for a second wand within the folds of his robe.   
  
Sirius heard the binds of Death Eater break and he barely managed to get out of the way of the Avada Kedavra curse that was hurled towards him. He turned and threw his knife. Through skill and a little luck, the blade landed within the dark hood and the Death Eater went down. Sirius cautiously approached his enemy and when he was sure he was dead, retrieved his blade and left to find the other.  
  
The first Death Eater was no longer where he had fallen. However, because of his leg, he had made tracks that even a blind person could follow. Sirius smiled. That is exactly what he had wanted.   
*****************************************  
  
Ron hit the ground with a thud. He hated traveling by portkeys, he never managed to land softly and he always had a sense of queasiness to go along with it. He pulled himself to his feet and looked around at his surroundings. They had landed in a large field surrounded by large trees. Although it was still light outside, night was quickly approaching and the air was becoming colder. Worse yet, there were no signs of Hogwarts, or anything that Ron could see that was familiar to him. He felt Hermione come up beside him, holding the invisibility cloak.  
  
"It's a good thing there were no Death Eaters around, considering our only protection fell off on the way here." he said.  
  
Hermione nodded. "Any sign of Sirius?"  
  
"I don't see a sign of anyone. Do you have any idea where we are?"  
  
"Not a clue."  
  
"Me either. Let's head that way, over towards the trees." Ron said.  
  
"Why that way?"  
  
"Because it is the creepiest place around, so of course we have to go that way. It makes sense."  
  
"Only to you Ron."  
  
"Well I'm open for suggestions!" Ron said defensively.  
  
Hermione looked around thoughtfully. "There has to be some sign of Sirius around here somewhere, he didn't have that much of a head start…an hour…and hour and half at most. The ground is damp and should have held his footprints. Look around and see if you can find any."  
  
Soon the young wizard and witch were searching the field, guided only by the light their wands provided. After searching for about twenty minutes, Hermione began to think that her plan hadn't been a good one. She glanced behind her at Ron who was bent over studying at something on the ground. For a minute Hermione thought he had found something, but then Ron stood up and continued to look in a different direction.   
  
Hermione turned back to her own search, and suddenly she felt the need to hurry. Time was running out for Harry and Selene, and they were doing nothing to help by searching a large field for what might or might not lead them to Sirius. She looked up and realized that she had reached the edges of the forest. She knew that Ron was probably right about the forest (although she would never admit it), and although all her intelligence told her that she should stay the hell out, her instincts told her that the answers were in there. Hermione took a deep breath and entered the forest. She had walked about twenty yards in was about to give up when she tripped over something that caused her to hit the ground hard.  
  
When she was finally able to catch her breath, she stood up to see what she had tripped over. She was convinced that it was a root or a fallen tree branch perhaps, but what she saw was neither. It was an arm. Surprised at her discovery, she backed away quickly and called out for Ron.   
  
"What is it?" Ron asked reaching her and panting for breath.  
  
Hermione said nothing and cautiously approached the arm again. Ron followed her and she could hear his sharp intake of breath when he saw what she had seen. For the first time Hermione saw that the arm was attached to a larger figure draped in black robes and laying on its stomach. For a minute Hermione thought that it was Sirius until Hermione saw the partially hidden Death Eater's tattoo on the figure's arm.   
  
"It's a Death Eater." Ron said, finishing her thought.  
  
Hermione nodded. "Do you think he's dead? Did Sirius kill him?"  
  
"He's dead alright." Ron said and held his illuminated wand closer to the fallen Death Eater motioning at the pool of blood that had formed underneath its hood.  
  
Ron (quite bravely Hermione thought) moved in closer to the figure and picked up something near the body. "Look at this." he said.  
  
Ron held two wands. One broken, one not. "Two wands?" Hermione asked.  
  
Ron nodded, "And look over there." Hermione looked and saw a fresh set of footprints leading away from the Death Eater. They followed them and found that they joined another set of footprints that went deeper into the forest.  
  
"Well?" Ron asked.  
  
"What choice do we have?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Right then. Dark scary forest here we come." Ron replied and the two wrapped the invisibility cloak around themselves, more so for the comfort of each other than the slight protection that it offered them, and they began to follow the new set of footprints deeper into the forest.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter. It was so tempting to leave it as a cliffhanger at several points, but since I'm such a nice author I decided to leave you with a little closure….this time. -R 


	13. In the Dark

Chapter 13: In the Dark  
  
Harry was unsure when it was exactly that he regained consciousness, because when he opened his eyes it was just as dark as when they were shut. He blinked several times to make sure that he was indeed awake, then pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. Harry realized that it was fairly cold in the room (if it was indeed a room). Although he had no sense of where he was or the dimensions of the room he was being held in, he could he a distant drip of water somewhere in the distance. Drip... drip…drip was the only sound he heard.  
  
As he sat there in the darkness, a feeling of overwhelming helplessness swept over Harry. He was alone…again. He was a prisoner of the Dark Arts…again. He hated the thought of confronting Voldemort one more time. Each encounter with him left Harry feeling weaker, more tired, and dwindled his hope that he would be able to live his life in peace. He thought back to the girl who had ran away from him after class a few weeks ago. All he wanted to do was help her, but his mere presence had caused fear…much like Voldemort's.  
  
Harry felt his eyes water, but knew that tears would not come. His tears had long ago been spent and he was not going to play the part of the helpless little boy that Voldemort thought he was.  
  
Suddenly he saw something move in front of him. Well, he more sensed it than saw it. A shift in the darkness, perhaps, but he knew instinctively was it was. It was Selene. He crawled over to her slowly, afraid that standing would leave him completely vulnerable. But to what he did not know. He squinted in the darkness, hoping his eyes would search out some type of light. He finally reached her, feeling her long hair under his hands. "Selene?" he asked quietly.  
  
For a second he panicked, thinking that perhaps it wasn't Selene, but a soft moan escaped her lips, verifying his initial suspicions. "Are you okay?" he asked. She didn't answer. Harry thought that maybe he should check her pulse. He reached down for her arm, and when he touched it he was surprised to find it to be very cold. It was then that he realized that Selene wasn't wearing her cloak that she had not parted with since Harry had met her.  
  
She let out another moan, and pulled her arm free of Harry's grasp and placed it protectively across her chest. Harry thought back to what Dumbledore told him about magmani… "It is the phoenix spirit of the magmani that give them their power. When you subject a magmanos to extreme cold, the phoenix spirit becomes frozen and the magmani feel not only the cold, but also the immense pain of being shot through the chest."  
  
Harry didn't think that it was that cold in the room, but obviously it was cold enough to cause her discomfort and perhaps to keep her unconscious. Harry took off his robes and put them around his aunt. He then lifted her head off of the cold floor and laid it in his lap. He sat there like that in the darkness hearing only the constant drip…drip…drip.  
  
  
  
Sirius had continued to follow the footprints until both the darkness of night and the impenetrable woods made it impossible for him to see them. He cursed himself for allowing them to take his wand and break it. Although he considered the Death Eater no longer a match for him, he did not want to go up against Voldemort with a mere knife.  
  
He had thought about changing into his animagus form about a half of mile back, and now it seemed like it was his only option. As a dog, his senses would be keener and he would most likely be able to track the Death Eater through scent. Only one thing caused him to hesitate, his right hand.  
  
He looked at his hand and even with the pale moonlight as his only light, he was able to see bruises appearing. He knew the Death Eater had broken at least two fingers by grinding Sirius' hand with his boot. While in his dog form, he would have to use that hand as a leg, and was not looking forward to putting a fourth of his weight on it. Sirius' sighed deeply, knowing that it had to be done. He tore a strip of fabric off from the bottom of his robes and tried to bandage and support his hand the best he could. He then transformed himself into his animal form and tested his front right paw. A surge of pain went through his leg, but Sirius ignored it and ran into the darkness.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
Dumbledore was making his way to Gryffindor tower. He had stopped by each house in order to make sure that all students were accounted for. Although he knew his professors were quite competent in counting their students, Dumbledore was anxious to do something other than pace the long hallways of the school. Gryffindor was his last stop and as he stood in front of the Pink Lady, trying to remember the new password, the door suddenly swung open.  
  
Minerva exited and was surprised to see Dumbledore standing only a few feet in front of her. "Headmaster?" she asked.  
  
"I thought I'd come see how the head checks were coming along."  
  
"That's what I want to talk to you about. Two students are missing. Granger and Ron Weasley. No one can remember seeing them after the…. incident…earlier. One student thought he saw them follow you and another man up to your office."  
  
Dumbledore's face went white. "Oh no."  
  
"Headmaster?"  
  
"They didn't. They couldn't have been that stupid." Dumbledore said unaware of the odd looks that he was receiving from McGonagall. Then he thought about something that he had thought unimportant at the time. When he left his office and shut the door, he hadn't heard it close. He attributed it to old age, but now he wasn't so sure.  
  
Without a word to McGonagall he left the tower and ran to his office. He found the door cracked, which did nothing to alleviate his worry. He pushed the door open and went to his desk where he found the white linen lying on the desk, and nothing more. Frantically he searched his desk drawers looking for the second portkey.  
  
"Albus? What's wrong?" McGonagall asked poking her head in the doorway.  
  
Dumbledore sat in his chair and rested his head on his hands and replied, "They're gone."  
  
  
  
The night was now upon them and the light of the moon added meager compensation to the light of Ron and Hermione's wands. The wind had picked up and it lapped against the invisibility cloak causing it to curl up at the edges and sending wisps of cold air into the two underneath it.  
  
Hermione and Ron huddled together under the cloak in an effort to get warm, both wishing they had had the smarts to bring coats with them. "Of course if we were smart we would not have come here." Hermione thought to herself. Ron, on the other hand, was thinking how nice it would have been if Voldemort had decided to take over the world from some place nice, like around the Mediterranean perhaps. He was visualizing himself basking on the warm beaches of Greece when Hermione stopped and motioned for him to do so also.  
  
"What is it?" Ron asked.  
  
"Listen."  
  
Ron didn't hear anything, and cocked his head slightly in an effort to hear what Hermione was hearing. Finally in the stillness of the forest in front of them Ron heard a soft rustling. At first Ron thought that it was a creature of some kind, most assuredly unfriendly, and gripped his wand defensively. The sound grew until it was all around them and Ron felt the cloak get heavy.  
  
"Rain." He said and Hermione nodded.  
  
She held out her hand and allowed a few drops to hit her hand. They heard thunder rumble in the distance, foreshadowing a storm ahead. Hermione looked down at the trail they had been following. The footprints had already begun to widen and soften. Hermione knew it wouldn't be long before the trail was gone all together.  
  
"Come on! We have to hurry!" Hermione said, and taking Ron's hand the two quickened their pace.  
  
  
  
Sirius also had concerns about the storm. Although not concerned about the physical trail (he had abandoned that long ago), it was the unseen one that worried him. The smell of the Death Eater, while pungent, was beginning to fade. Wet Earth and trees began to fill Sirius' senses and at the same time the rain was washing away anything that might have held the Death Eater's scent. Sirius had lost the trail several times and had to back track in order to find it again. He was getting frustrated, as he knew that precious time was being wasted.  
  
He moved quickly and was finally able to regain the trail. Unfortunately, Sirius paid little attention to the changing state of the forest floor. He had just caught sight of his target when the ground underneath him gave way and he went tumbling down a hill. He felt thorns pierce his skin and sticks and twigs scratch his face. He dug his claws into the loose soil in an effort to slow his descent, but to no avail. He landed with a thud and felt his wounded hand hit a rock that caused a large shot of pain to shoot through his arm. Yes, his arm. Sirius sat up and was surprised to find that he was back to his human form.  
  
"The adrenaline rush caused by the fall and the pain of my hand must have caused me transform back". Sirius thought. He looked at where he had fallen and tried desperately to crawl back up the hill, but the wet mud and his hand would not allow it. In frustration he kicked a fallen limb and then sat on it in order to think.  
  
The storm was closing in and dark clouds frequently covered the moon leaving Sirius in complete darkness. When he was allowed some light he examined his hand again. The whole top of his hand was black and two of his fingers were bent in awkward directions. He tried to make a fist, but was unable. He knew that transforming back into his animagus form was now out of the question.  
  
He squinted as a bolt of lightening lit up the skies, a brilliant contrast to the dark of the night. Another set of lightening bolts danced across the sky, but this time the light illuminated another figure about fifty yards in front of Sirius. Sirius squinted as the light faded, wishing he had his dog senses at his command. He waited for the next set of lightening and when it came he saw that it was indeed the Death Eater he had been tracking. Sirius leapt off the log he was sitting on and ran after him.  
  
Since anger and fear for his family fueled Sirius, plus the fact the Death Eater was wounded, Sirius was on top of him in no time. The rain increased and made Sirius' approach almost noiseless. "Finally, something working in my favor." Sirius thought. The Death Eater turned to face Sirius, but too late and Sirius pushed the man into the ground. The Death Eater yelled and reached for his leg. Sirius took his boot and held the man's leg down with his foot. The Death Eater yelled again.  
  
"Feels good, doesn't it?" Sirius asked. "Where are they?"  
  
The Death Eater remained silent.  
  
Sirius put more pressure on the man's leg. "Where are they?" he demanded.  
  
"Near." The figure answered.  
  
"Could you please be a little more specific please?" Sirius said bringing out his knife and holding it threateningly to the Death Eater's good leg.  
  
"That way." The Death Eater pointed to the right. Sirius turned his head momentarily and the Death Eater seized the opportunity to bring out his wand and sent a shower of sparks at Sirius.  
  
Sirius flung himself from the Death Eater, managing to miss another curse. Sirius cursed himself for making another, almost fatal, error. Another set of clouds swept over the moon leaving the two wizards in darkness. The Death Eater began to panic and sent curse after curse at anything he heard move. Sirius remained still, patiently waiting until he was able to see again. Lightening flashed and Sirius saw that the Death Eater was again on his feet.  
  
Sirius reached for his knife, but realized he was without it. Making a bold move he rushed the Death Eater and tackled him knocking the wand out of his hand, and the two tumbled into the wet ground. The Death Eater struggled free of Sirius' grasp and made a run for his fallen wand. Desperate, Sirius struggled to his feet and made a run for the wand as well. He almost reached it, but slipped on the muddy ground. When he regained his footing he noticed that the Death Eater retrieved his weapon and had it pointed right at Sirius. Having no place to run or hide, Sirius ran for his enemy hoping to get there before the Death Eater had a chance to use it. The Death Eater stood smiling at the other man and his wand sent out a shower of fiery darts.  
  
  
  
Ron and Hermione stopped suddenly. Above the rain, thunder, and wind they had heard someone scream out. The scream was then silenced by a large crack of thunder.  
  
  
  
A/N: Ah a cliffie. I know many people don't like them, but if it seemed like a good stopping place to me. Thanks for all the reviews…keep 'em coming  
  
- In response to one review, my story was not ripped from anywhere…to my knowledge. I did come across a fic very similar to mine back in November. But it was obvious that we were going in two different directions with the plot. -R 


	14. Rain

Chapter 14: Rain   
  
Sirius screamed out as he felt the Death Eater's magic penetrate his clothes and skin. He had tried at the last moment to turn away from the curse, but this time he was too slow. The fire from the Death Eater's wand exploded through Sirius' body. It did not burn like regular fire; instead it had cut him like knives. The right side of his body had taken the majority of the hit and the force of the curse had sent him sprawling. Even now, although the sparks had diminished, he could still feel the curse working under his robes, cutting into his arm, chest, and side.  
  
A few moments later Sirius realized that he was still lying on his back, having made no effort to move. Instead he let the rain pound his face, hoping it would alleviate his pain. He then became conscious of the fact that he didn't know where his adversary was. The rain had taken on monsoon force and every time Sirius opened his mouth to breath, the rain threatened to choke him. Because of the rain, Sirius couldn't see three feet in front of him. He tried to reposition himself to get a better view, but movement sent waves of pain and nausea through him, and Sirius sagged back into the wet ground.  
  
  
************************  
  
Ron and Hermione ran towards the scream that they had heard, abandoning their original trail. If other screams had been made, the now constant thunder, and the falling of the rain had drowned them. The rain was so think that they could barely see each other, let alone their way through the woods. Hermione slipped on a wet rock that would have resulted in a nasty fall, but Ron's hand came out of nowhere, grabbed her, and pulled her to her feet.   
  
They ran until they were forced to stop and catch their breaths. They stood under a tall oak tree, whose leaves and many branches caught much of the rain. Hermione sat on a large root and rubbed her legs, which were beginning to ache from all the running, and tried to push as much of her wet hair out of her face as possible. "I guess we should move on now."  
  
Ron was standing in front of her peering into the rain. He didn't respond.  
  
Hermione cleared her throat, "I said..."  
  
"Hermione come look at this." Ron said ignoring her statements.  
  
Hermione picked herself off the root with great effort and went and stood by Ron. He didn't take his eyes off what he was looking at and Hermione followed his gaze. She saw a figure lying on the ground, only a short distance away from them. They were so close that Hermione could make out the identity of the person, "It's Sirius." she said.  
  
Ron nodded, "It looks like he's hurt."  
  
"Then let's go help him."  
  
Ron put out his arm and held Hermione back, "Wait. There's someone else."  
  
Hermione squinted into the distorted gray landscape and tried to see what Ron saw. "Ron, I don't see anything." She said, frustrated with herself.  
  
"I lost him too." Ron admitted, "He was standing right...there!" Ron shouted and pointed vigorously. "He's standing right behind Sirius." Ron squinted then added, "He's doing something with his hands, he's...he's...got a wand."  
  
Hermione finally located the other man and when she recognized what he was a shiver ran down her neck and branched out throughout her entire body, "Ron, that's a Death Eater."  
  
"I know." Ron said, "and Sirius doesn't see him."  
  
**************  
  
Sirius felt the rain on his face and closed his eyes against it. The rain relaxed him, it always had, the soft drumming of the rain against his clothes and face brought a certain element of peace with it. That's all the rain was now, a bringer of comfort and peace. No longer was it another adversary working against him, hindering his vision and movements. Sirius found himself caring less and less about where the Death Eater was and found himself concentrating on the sound of the rain.  
  
Sirius' hand was throbbing, his whole body was throbbing, and he could feel drops of something he knew was not rain, flowing down from his chest and side, only to finally merge with the rain and mud on the ground. He didn't care anymore. He was content to lie on the rain soaked earth and let the water wash over him, washing away his blood, sins, and failures, a dark baptism.   
  
He was on the brink of unconsciousness when the Death Eater approached him from behind. Only when the Death Eater was so close that he was actually standing on Sirius' hair, did the fallen wizard turn his gaze upward and into the dark hood. Sirius could see only lines of a dark face and was able to make out the lines of a mouth that angled upwards in a cruel smile. Sirius attention shifted from the hood and to the wand that the Death Eater was pointing at the center of Sirius' forehead.  
  
"Now that I have you bleeding and broken, I can kill you." The voice rasped from under the hood.  
  
For some reason, unknown to even to him, Sirius started laughing. The laugh was cold and hard, bereft of any humor. Although it hurt like hell to laugh, Sirius couldn't stop himself. The laughter grew louder and louder, causing the Death Eater above him to back off.  
  
"Why are you laughing?" The Death Eater demanded.  
  
Sirius said nothing.  
  
"Stop it!" The Death Eater yelled, and in response Sirius only laughed louder.  
  
"I said stop it now!" The dark man screamed and kicked Sirius in the side. Waves of bright pain surged through Sirius as he gasped for breath.  
  
He looked up to see the tip of the Death Eater's wand once more aimed at him and heard the words of the Avada Kedavra curse being uttered. In the mud and rain Sirius waited for the curse to strike him, but it never came.  
  
Before the Death Eater could finish the curse, a mass of shadow ran into him and knocked the Death Eater into the ground. A second smaller shadow managed to loosen the wand from the Death Eater's hand while the first shadow held him on the ground. Sirius watched as the Death Eater smacked the figure that was on top of him and lunged for the wand held by...Sirius squinted...a girl. The other a figure, a boy, threw himself at the Death Eater again and managed to bring him down once more. The girl muttered something and the trees around the Death Eater began to move and the branches began to wrap themselves around the Death Eater.  
  
"Ron, move!" The girl shouted and Sirius watched as the boy got out of the way before becoming encased in the branches along with the Death Eater.  
  
Sirius groaned feeling all of his injuries anew, and the girl's attention went to him. She ran to him and for the first time he saw her face clearly. He recognized her as one of Harry's friends, Hermione. The boy appeared and Sirius realized that it was Ron Weasley.   
  
"How is he?" Sirius heard Ron ask.  
  
"I don't know." Hermione replied.  
  
Sirius wanted to tell them he was fine, but at the same time he knew he wasn't. Suddenly the images of Ron and Hermione began to blur and fade. At first he thought that it was all part of a dream and that he was actually in his bed within his cave, but then he realized that he was slipping into unconsciousness, and he welcomed it.   
  
*****************  
  
Harry had no idea how long he had sat in the darkness holding his unconscious aunt. The only measurement of time that he had was to count the number of water drops he heard in the distance. Although the task was menial and boring counting kept him from delving into self pity. Every time that he stopped counting his thoughts immediately went back to his confinement and the inevitable encounter with Voldemort.   
  
Around the five hundredth drop or so he felt Selene stir. He had begun to feel her skin warm up a while ago and hoped that it had meant that she would awaken soon. Harry was glad that he had been right. He felt her move and slowly rise, "Harry?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah. It's me."  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
"Peachy." Harry replied sarcastically.  
  
"Do you know where we are?"  
  
"No idea. I was still unconscious when they brought us here." Harry said and heard the soft rustling of his robes as she sat up beside him, her shoulder touching his.  
  
"Thank you Harry." She said.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Your robes. They help more than you know. But are you warm enough?"  
  
"I'm fine." Harry said. Although in reality everything about this situation made Harry feel anything but fine, the coolness of the room and the goose bumps it caused on his arms, didn't bother him much. "I only wish I could see something." He added.  
  
Selene sighed. "I think I can do something about that." Harry heard the robes rustle some more and then watched as a small ball of light radiated from beside him. At first Harry squinted, his pupils painfully shrinking at the new light, but eventually they adjusted and Harry saw the outline of Selene's hand, which, he noticed, was supporting the ball of light. The light grew and Harry was able to see more of Selene, her arm, face, and the rest of her body. Her eyes were fixed and concentrating on the glowing orb in her hand. The light then spread to Harry and illuminated the right side of his body and then the left. The wave of light filled in the corners of the room and for the first time Harry was able to make out its dimensions.  
  
It was indeed a room, rectangular in nature and about ten feet across and twenty long. The ceiling was high; in fact the small light that Selene produced was not powerful enough to pierce the darkness above them. Harry identified the source of the dripping; a leak in the roof perhaps was dripping water into a puddle in one of the corners. "It must be raining outside." Harry thought to himself.   
  
His attention was soon diverted to what lay on the far side of the room, a door. Harry ran over towards it and grabbed the handle pulling on it with all his strength and when that failed he pushed against it. He had little care for what was on the other side of the door. All he wanted was to get out of the room he was in. Selene's light flickered and faded, and Harry could hear her breathing heavily from the far side of the room.  
  
"I'm sorry Harry." She said between gasps. "I'm afraid I can do little more than that in my present state."  
  
Harry slid down against the door and sat with his back against it. "Selene, could you do something about the door?" he asked quietly.  
  
"I'm afraid not. The trip here and the cold did a good deal of damage to my ability to control the magic. I probably could break down the door, but it would render me useless against whatever was on the other side. I would not be able to protect you or myself."  
  
"You magic has been damaged?" Harry asked.  
  
"No, you misunderstand me. The magic is fine; it is my control that has been damaged. And without that, there's no telling what harm it, or I, could do. I can do nothing."  
  
"You sound like you are giving up." Harry said angrily.  
  
Harry heard her laugh from somewhere in the darkness. "I suppose it does."  
  
"I don't believe that." Harry said.  
  
"Harry, I wouldn't expect you to..."  
  
"To what? Understand?" Harry retorted. He stood up and spoke in the direction of Selene although he could no longer see her, "To understand what it is like to have people around you die, or to become afraid for you...or of you? To look over your back constantly waiting for someone in the dark to come and find you and take you away again?"  
  
"Harry..."  
  
"I do understand what it is like to live in a constant fog of fear, helplessness, and worry!" Harry yelled into the darkness. Suddenly his anger left him and he was left feeling sad and tired, so very tired. He sat down once more and his next words were soft and barely audible, "Please don't give up, Selene. I can't fight this battle alone."  
  
The two sat silently in the dark, lost in their own separate thoughts and listening to the drip...drip...drip...of the rain.  
  
**********  
A/N: A little angsty perhaps, but oh well. As for Sirius, I wouldn't worry too much about him...ten bucks says he'll pull through. -R 


	15. Resurrections

Chapter 15: Resurrections  
  
  
  
With the rain still pouring down on them like a parade of bullets, Hermione and Ron managed to drag an unconscious Sirius underneath the same large oak that previously offered protection to them. Although the tree provided little resistance to the wind, it did provide a reprieve from the rain.  
  
Hermione looked at Sirius' mud caked robes. She knew that they were going to have to take them off in order to access Sirius' wounds, but she hesitated in doing so. Hermione was unsure if she could handle it if Sirius' wounds proved to be serious or even fatal. She realized that his death would also mean the death of Harry and Selene. Slowly she took a deep breath and she and Ron began to peel back the layers of fabric.  
  
Underneath the robes, Hermione saw that Sirius' shirt was covered with blood. Hermione pushed back several unpleasant thoughts as they unbuttoned his shirt and began to pull it away from his flesh. It was a slow and tedious process because some areas of blood had begun to congeal and stick to the fabric.  
  
Hermione looked up at Ron who had turned an unhealthy shade of green. "Ron?" she asked concerned.  
  
"I'm okay." He said swallowing hard, "It's just that…that…I've never seen so much blood before."  
  
Hermione smiled softly, "It's okay to be afraid Ron."  
  
"I'm not afraid!" Ron said defensively.  
  
"Well that makes one of us."  
  
"It's just that I don't think I can do this anymore Hermione. I'm sorry."  
  
Hermione reached over and touched Ron's hand, "That's okay." She gathered up Sirius' discarded robes and handed them to Ron. "We are going to need something to cover these wounds. Why don't you take his robes and wash them off the best that you can?"  
  
Ron took the robes, grateful to have a job that didn't require him to look at the blood anymore. When Ron was gone Hermione turned her attention back to Sirius. She managed to pull back the rest of his shirt and under the small light of her wand she was able to see exactly what the Death Eater had done to him.  
  
It appeared that the majority of the blow had struck him on the right side of his chest, just below the shoulder. However, there were visible cuts extending down his right side and finally ending about two inches above his waistline. His right arm was in the same condition as his chest. Hermione ripped a piece of lining from the inside of her robes and wet it, then dabbed at one of the cuts. Although the cuts themselves were quite small, they were deep and numerous. Hermione racked her brain thinking of a curse that would inflict these kinds of wounds, "Danus Infernis" she said softly.  
  
Her attention then shifted to Sirius' right hand. She lifted it gently and began to clean it off. It was obvious that it was badly broken and bruised, but it would have to wait. The cuts were more concerning.  
  
Hermione heard Ron approach with the robes. The robes and Ron were both sopping wet, but they both looked a lot cleaner.  
  
"I found this inside of his robes." Ron said pulling out a handful of red material.  
  
"That's Selene's." Hermione said and Ron nodded in agreement.  
  
Sirius groaned and Ron glanced at him, noticing fresh blood on his chest and arm. "He's bleeding again." Ron said turning green once more.  
  
"We need to stop the bleeding. Ron, I'm going to need your help."  
  
Ron nodded, placed Selene's robes in the driest spot he could find and sat down beside Hermione, "What do I need to do?" he asked.  
  
For over an hour the two sat under the branches of the oak working silently. Ron would tear a strip of cloth, wet it, and then hand it to Hermione. Hermione would then wash away the blood and debris from the cuts. When the wounds were clean she and Ron wrapped fabric around Sirius tightly.  
  
"Where did you learn how to do this?" Ron had asked at one point.  
  
"A muggle first aid book." She answered, "You can't always rely on magic." She added tightening another strip of fabric.  
  
Ron laughed.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"You amaze me Herm, you really do."  
  
Hermione smiled and felt the blood rise to her cheeks. "Hand me another strip please." she said.  
  
With the last pieces of fabric they made a makeshift sling for Sirius' hand. Together they moved Sirius up against the oak and put Selene's cloak around him.  
  
"What do we do now?" Ron asked when they had finished.  
  
As if in response, Sirius moaned and shifted his body.  
  
"I guess we wait." Hermione replied.  
  
**********************************  
  
Selene sat in the dark and listened to the thunder outside. Only a few minutes ago the only sound that was audible from within the darkness of their cell was the water in the corner, but now she was able to make out the distinct sounds of thunder. Selene put her head against the wall and once again became aware of the hardness of the stone. She peered into the darkness in front of her, not knowing how long it had been since her last conversation with Harry. She did know, however, that since their conversation, no sound had been heard from where Harry had been sitting.  
  
She rubbed her hands together partly out of wanting to keep warm, but mostly out of frustration. What a great and powerful witch she turned out to be, she thought to herself. She was too weak even to conjure a small amount of prolonged light that might bring some welcomed relief from the solitude that they both felt.  
  
Selene hated the feeling of weakness that she now felt. She rubbed her shoulders and arms as if by doing so she could wipe the feeling away. It seemed ironic to her that someone who had so much magical ability would constantly fail those whom she loved and who loved her. Selene remembered how helpless she felt when she and Sirius had found Lily and James. She had failed to save them just as she had failed to save Sirius and herself later in that dark alley. Now it appeared that her inability had not only doomed her but Harry as well.  
  
She closed her eyes and tried to loose herself in the sound of the thunder, trying to block out the visions and voices of her past with the constant sharp sound of the storm. Instead her mind only managed to conjure up new images. She saw Voldemort appearing from the darkness, his face lit by some hellish light and delight spread across his ghoulish face as he sucked what he could from her body and then turned to Harry. "Harry." Selene whispered softly, her mind still fixed on the imagined image. She saw Voldemort smiling at Harry just before sending the Avada Kedavra curse through his small frame until his body was left as lifeless as his mother's and father's.  
  
A large crack of thunder caused her to jump and as she opened her eyes the vision of Voldemort faded into nothingness. She shifted her position, being mindful not to close her eyes again, lest the image of Voldemort return. Instead she held her hands in front of her face. She then called the magic to her fingers, feeling the rush of warmth through her arms and down to her fingertips. Still concealed under her skin the magic was invisible, but made its presence known to Selene. It burned at her fingertips waiting to be released, to fly from her and to free itself from the fate that it knew would come.  
  
  
  
Selene wished she could release the whole of her magic, let it escape into the storm and fly away. Not that Selene wished to die, far from it, but she feared Voldemort getting her power above all else. When she called upon her magic and really used it, not just for the simple tricks that she had shown Harry, she had felt a power so intense that it had left her shaken and afraid. The thought of Voldemort being able to tap into a power of that magnitude horrified Selene.  
  
However, Selene knew that there was no way she could eradicate her magic from her own body. That was impossible. Selene's magic could never be destroyed, only transferred or transformed. There was only one way to transfer the entirety of her magic, and that lone spell was located in the Book of Carmen. Named after the magmanos that had created the spell, the book contained some of the more evil spells that could be performed by magmani alone. Selene thought that the book had been kept locked up by the Ministry, but upon arriving here she had felt its presence. It called to her in ways that only a magmanos could understand, its evil calling to be used and released. That is how she knew what Voldemort had planned for her, and how it would be possible for him to obtain her magic.  
  
Selene glanced back into the darkness and into Harry's general direction. Selene could not bear to think about letting such a powerful evil touch her nephew. Not again. If only she could give him some sort of protection from Voldemort, some sort of shield. Suddenly an idea sprung into her mind. "Not a shield." she thought to herself. "A weapon."  
  
She stood and fumbled around in the darkness until she found Harry, who had fallen asleep near the door. Against her better judgment she brought up a small amount of light, which cast a golden glow upon the sleeping boy. She knelt down and brushed a few wayward strands of hair from his face. Selene frowned at his expression, which contained a mixture of fear and exhaustion. "He has been through so much already." She thought to herself and momentarily hesitated before gently shaking his shoulder.  
  
Harry roused soundlessly, his eyes squinting at the light. His green eyes gazed into her own. Selene smiled and then said, "Harry. I have an idea."  
  
************************  
  
Sirius blinked a few times in order to clear his vision and to chase the rain out of his eyes. It took a few minutes for him to remember where he was. He remembered landing in a field of some type and then chasing someone and then in turn being chased. Then images of hooded figures filled his mind and a light, a painful light, tearing through his body. Death Eaters. There were two Death Eaters. No, one was dead. He had killed it, but the other…  
  
Sirius tried to stand, but his body wouldn't respond and he fell into a heap on the ground. When he looked up two concerned faces were staring back at him. "Hermione and Ron." Sirius said, slowly remembering.  
  
The two nodded and Sirius wiped his wet matted hair out of his face. "The other Death Eater?" he asked.  
  
"Is contained." Hermione answered. "Do you remember anything?"  
  
Sirius stretched out his right arm, feeling the familiar throb of his hand and the stab of the fresh cuts. "I'm beginning to." he said.  
  
"You had us worried." Ron said and swallowed hard, "There was a lot of blood."  
  
Sirius looked at Hermione who smiled and said, "Well it was wasn't that much blood."  
  
Sirius tried to stand again, this time more slowly. Hermione and Ron rushed to help him but Sirius refused. He felt better being on his feet again and he walked carefully to the outer branches of the tree and let some water fall on his face. For the first time he became aware of a new pain radiating from his chest and side. He unbuttoned what was left of his shirt in an effort to examine his new wounds. He found they were neatly bound with what looked like scraps of his own robes.  
  
"We had to stop the bleeding." Hermione said.  
  
"It looks like you two did a good job." Sirius replied. "Which brings me to ask what exactly are you two doing here?"  
  
Ron and Hermione exchanged glances.  
  
"We thought that we should follow you in case if something went wrong we would be able to go get help." Ron said.  
  
"Follow me? How?"  
  
"The second portkey." Hermione said.  
  
"You did what?" Sirius asked angrily "Do you know how stupid that was?"  
  
"Yes. But…" Ron said.  
  
"But? There are no buts. You two could've gotten yourselves killed! How much help would you both had been then? You two probably have Dumbledore scared to death. It was an incredibly foolish thing to do!" Sirius yelled. He then looked at the two students in front of him. True it was incredibly irrational to follow him with the second portkey, but Sirius couldn't help but admire them. They had risked their own lives to save their friend, and in turn they had been responsible for saving his own life. He knew that he would have done the same thing at their age, and couldn't help but feel a kindred spirit in these two. He smiled at them, "It was foolish, but also very brave."  
  
Ron and Hermione smiled.  
  
"What now?" Ron asked.  
  
"I guess there's no point in me telling you to go back. After all I assume you would just follow me anyway." Sirius said. "I fear that time is running out for Selene and Harry. The Death Eater indicated that they are somewhere in that direction." Sirius pointed right with his free hand.  
  
"You don't believe that what the Death Eater told you was true, do you?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Why wouldn't he tell me the truth? After all he was planning on killing me, so what would he have had to loose?" Sirius sighed deeply, "Besides, I have nothing else to go on."  
  
"What are we waiting for then?" Ron asked and began to gather up their few belongings.  
  
"Hold on a minute. If we do this, I want you two to promise me something. You do exactly what I tell you. If I tell you to hang back, then you hang back. Do I make myself clear?" Sirius asked, although it was more of a demand than a question.  
  
Ron started to argue, but Sirius cut him off with a look.  
  
"Are we agreed?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yes." Ron said.  
  
"Yes." Hermione agreed.  
  
"Good. Now let's get out of here." Sirius said and together the three made their way back into the storm.  
  
***********  
  
  
  
A/N: I was a little afraid that my muse had taken a hiatus, but luckily he's back. Please let me know what you think of the chapter and how the story is going. The next chapter will probably be the one of the last, so if there are still any questions that are going unanswered please let me know. Thanks for all of the reviews you guys have already given me! I read and appreciate them all! -R 


	16. Voices in the Dark

Chapter 16: Voices in the Dark  
  
  
  
"I thought that was impossible." Harry said once Selene had told him what she intended to do.  
  
Selene closed her hand extinguishing the light. Harry heard her move beside him and sit with him up against the door. "It is impossible for me to extract the entirety of my magic, that much is true. However, what I intend to do is transfer a small amount of my magic to you. That magic should be able to keep you safe for a short amount of time." she said.  
  
Harry shook his head, "I don't like it. What about you? You said that you were weak already, what would this do to you?"  
  
Selene took a deep breath and Harry could hear her expel it slowly. "Harry, when Voldemort appears I guarantee you that he will have a powerful spell that he will use against me."  
  
"Then use your magic against the door. Not on me." Harry said.  
  
"I've already told you that it would render me useless against what was on the other side. Do you honestly think that Voldemort would have nothing lying between us and escape? With my magic, you could save yourself and get outside."  
  
"No. I won't leave you."  
  
"Harry, if you stay you will die right along with me. You are too important in this fight to die now, and in this way."  
  
"I don't want you to die! I just found you! You can't give up Selene, not yet!"  
  
"I'm not giving up, Harry. I'm saving your life. I'm doing for you what I was unable to do for Lily, James, or Sirius."  
  
"By sacrificing yourself? There's got to be a better way!" Harry exclaimed.  
  
"I'm open for suggestions!" Selene said, a little louder than intended. She was just frustrated at the whole of the situation and wanted Harry to understand that this was the only way that he was going to survive. "Do you think I want to die? So soon after finding you and Sirius? If there was any other way I would take it, but Harry, we have no other options.  
  
"There's got to be another way!" Harry said placing his head on his forehead, struggling to think of some other way of getting away from this place and from Voldemort.  
  
"Harry..."  
  
"SShh. Let me think." Harry said almost angrily. He had suddenly found it hard to concentrate.   
  
"Harry are you okay?" Selene asked.  
  
"I fine. It's just that...." Harry stopped, feeling his scar start to tingle. His pulse raced, and he felt himself break out in a cold sweat. "Selene?"  
  
"What is it Harry?"  
  
In only those few moments Harry's scar went from merely tingling to exploding with pain. He reached for it, but touching it only made the pain intensify. "He's coming." Harry managed to get out between waves of pain and nausea.   
  
"How do you..."  
  
"Trust me." Harry said wincing.  
  
He felt Selene kneel beside him and take him into her arms. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his, which seemed to momentarily alleviate the burning from his scar. "It's time." she said. Harry felt her cheek warm up, almost too hot to the touch. Its warmth spread to him, but it wasn't like the warmth he had experienced before. Instead of comfort, Harry felt the sensation of being pulled from the inside. It was if all of his energy and emotion was being pulled into Selene. Suddenly that feeling stopped and reversed itself. Harry now had the sensation that he was pulling, no tearing, something away from Selene.  
  
"Selene? What are you doing?" Harry asked and tried to pull away, but Selene held on to him, keeping him pressed against her. The feeling persisted even as Harry tried to pull away. He began to feel his aunt's grasp loosen and her face grow cold "No! Selene I won't let you!" Harry yelled and freed himself from her grasp.   
  
Both nephew and aunt fell back onto the floor. Harry sat up and as he did he could feel Selene's magic coursing through him. It felt both new and familiar and as it raced within him, he was finally able understood the power that Selene held.  
  
Selene sat up beside him. "I had to Harry." she panted.   
  
They heard the sound of footsteps approaching and they turned towards the door. "We have to get away from the door." Harry whispered. Harry slid back along the floor until he felt his back resting against the stone wall. He reached out beside him to make sure that Selene was there. She gripped his hand in a response.   
  
They heard the door being unlocked and pushed open, swinging on large heavy hinges, that made a noise so shrill that it was painful to hear. Even as loud as the door was, the sound of footsteps entering the room was unmistakably clear.  
  
****************************************  
  
The small band of rescuers made their way past the enclosed Death Eater and ran in the direction that it had indicated to Sirius. Ron still wasn't convinced that they were moving in the right direction, but he was glad to at least be moving again. Running in any direction gave him something to do, and watching for muddy areas, sticks, rocks, and even other Death Eaters, had kept his mind from straying to thoughts about what if they were too late? What if Harry and Selene were dead? What if they were walking into a trap?  
  
As they ran the rain began to lighten, and the moon became visible for longer amounts of time, which provided them the light they needed to travel. As Hermione ran she kept looking beside her at Sirius, who never seemed to give any inclination of the pain she knew he must be experiencing. His breathing was a little heavier than hers or Ron's, but his face was set in determination and that alone gave Hermione the faith she needed to believe they were going in the right direction.  
  
Before long a building came into a view. It wasn't that far away from where the three were, but old age and overgrown foliage had made it nearly impossible to see until they were almost upon it. When they were a little closer, Sirius stopped and motioned for the other two to do also.   
  
"Is that where they are?" Hermione asked.  
  
"I'm not sure." Sirius said.  
  
"I wager money on it." Ron said. The other two looked at him curiously. "Look over there." Ron nodded to what looked like an entrance.  
  
Sirius and Hermione turned to look and in the recesses of a doorway they saw a hooded figure robed in black. "Another Death Eater." Sirius mumbled.  
  
"What do we do?" Ron asked.  
  
Sirius inhaled deeply, mulling over the situation. Finally he said, "You two stay here. I'll go around to the door, and then Hermione can use her wand to create a distraction in the opposite direction. I'll sneak around him and go in."  
  
"You can't be serious, Sirius." Ron said, which surprised the older wizard.  
  
"And why not?" Sirius asked.  
  
"You are completely defenseless. You have no wand and only one good hand. You don't even have a weapon." Ron said.  
  
Sirius nodded and turned his gaze back to the Death Eater.   
  
"Why don't you and I go in there and Hermione can stay out here and provide the distraction." Ron said and Sirius and Hermione both turned and looked at him.  
  
"You have to be out of your mind." Hermione said before Sirius could. "You will get yourself killed going up against those Death Eaters."  
  
"I take offense at that. I tackled the one back there fairly nicely I think."  
  
"You were lucky." Sirius said, "You might not be so lucky the next time."  
  
Ron looked to Hermione for support, but instead she agreed with Sirius. "He's right Ron." she said.  
  
"What then? Are we going to just sit here and wait? What if we just ask Mr. Death Eater over there if he will go and collect Harry and Selene for us?" Ron said angrily and then turned to Hermione, "Harry's in there, Herm. With that...that... creature. Who knows what Voldemort has done to him already." Ron said, his voice cracking at the thought of something happening to Harry. He then turned to Sirius. "And you. Your wife is in there. Who knows what Voldemort has planned for her..."  
  
Sirius turned to Ron and glared at him with a look of rage. He walked over to where Ron was standing and grabbed the front of the young wizard's robes with his good hand. "I know exactly what he is going to do to her. It has never left my mind." Sirius snarled through clenched teeth. "Nor has Harry."  
  
"Then lets go get them." Ron said defiantly.   
  
Ron watched the rage fade from Sirius' eyes and his mouth angle upward into a sly grin; he released Ron's robes and nodded. "Alright. Hermione stays here and you and I go in."  
  
Hermione started to protest, but Sirius turned to her and said, "Hermione. We need you for the distraction. You are better with a wand than Ron, right?"  
  
Hermione nodded, "All the more reason for me to go with you."  
  
Sirius shook his head. "The distraction is important, if that goes awry than it is all over. Besides we will need you to deal with any other Death Eaters that try to follow us in."  
  
That seemed to appease Hermione. "Ron, are you ready?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good. Let's go. Hermione, if we aren't back within twenty minutes, I want you to run back the way we came. Use a portkey and go back to Dumbledore. Understand?"  
  
Hermione nodded and then watched as Ron and Sirius made their way to the entrance of the building. As her eyes followed them she kept a tight grip on her wand. A million things were running through her mind, most of the thoughts centered on how many things could go wrong with their plan.  
  
Sirius and Ron approached the door from the right and came as close as they dared. Sirius signaled to her that it was time for the distraction, but Hermione froze. She kept thinking that she was sending both Ron and Sirius to their deaths. Hermione wanted to act, but too many questions were running through her mind. What if the spell doesn't work? What if Sirius and Ron are captured? Could I make it back to Dumbledore in time? Hermione found herself questioning her actions, something that she had never done before. She lowered her wand, not sure what she should do.  
  
As they stood against the building, Ron became aware that he could not see Hermione. The brush that Hermione was hiding behind, while allowing her to watch them, obscured her from their view. This both pleased and worried Ron. He was pleased because he knew that if he and Sirius couldn't see her, even when they were looking for her, then neither would any Death Eater. However, it worried him because after Sirius had signaled her, nothing had happened. Ron thought that maybe Hermione was contemplating what spell to use, so he and Sirius waited for a few minutes to see what would happen. While they were waiting Ron had a horrible image of a Death Eater stumbling across the hiding place and capturing Hermione. Ron couldn't shake the thought that something was wrong, and so he began to retrace his and Sirius' footsteps back to their hiding spot.  
  
What is he doing? Hermione asked herself when she saw Ron heading in her direction.  
  
Sirius tried to hold Ron back, but having only one good arm hindered his movements, and Ron slipped from his grasp. Ron hadn't gotten very far when he slipped on a muddy patch of earth and fell. Fear seized him as Ron felt the Death Eater's gaze turn towards him. He looked back for Sirius, but heard his voice instead.  
  
"Ron! Freeze!" Sirius said as loudly as he could without attracting attention himself.  
  
It was too late. Although Sirius was sure that the Death Eater could not yet see the boy, he was approaching them to investigate the noise.  
  
Sirius flattened himself up against the wall and felt completely useless. He was hurt and unarmed. If he made any effort to help Ron, the Death Eater would discover him. However, he stayed where he was, he would be seen as well. Sirius could do nothing, and he hated it. Come on Hermione. He said to himself. Please do something.  
  
Although Hermione could not have heard Sirius' plea, at that very moment she knew that she had to act. She simply could not allow that Death Eater to do to Ron what one of his kind had done to Sirius. She pointed her wand to the left of the Death Eater and whispered "Twiterous Surrod!" Suddenly the forest within the reach of the spell became alive with noises and voices of all sorts. The Death Eater turned his attention to them, and tried to locate exactly where the noise was coming from. However, the spell was subtle and elusive. Whenever the Death Eater approached, the noise would move to a different location.   
  
Hermione watched as Sirius picked Ron off up his feet, and together the two slid by the Death Eater and entered the building.  
  
Hermione sat down and exhaled deeply, unaware that she had been holding her breath almost the entire time. Then for the first time she realized that the rain had almost completely stopped. The rumble of thunder had ceased. Her spell had also run its course and the Death Eater, discovering nothing, had returned to his post. The forest was once again quiet, almost too quiet.  
  
********************************************************  
  
As soon as the figure entered the room, Harry knew who it was. He didn't need his scar to tell him that, or his eyes. The room was still dark and Harry was unable to see Voldemort who stood there in the darkness, silent.  
  
Every time Harry encountered Voldemort, there was always a terrible feeling of evil that surrounded the Dark Lord. It made Harry's stomach turn and invoked every ounce of fear that he had. However, this time something was different.  
  
There was something else in the air. Harry could sense that it was magic, but he could not pinpoint the source. The one thing that he knew for certain was that whatever it was it was not a part of Voldemort. This magic was separate from him. Harry could sense the magic branch off into the air, writhing as eels in a dark sea, looking...searching. But for what? Harry asked himself. The answer came too quickly.  
  
Suddenly it found Harry and surrounded him, calling to him with the voices of locusts, swarming through the air. The voices were separate, yet were unified in their pleading. The call was clear. It wanted him, needed him. "Set us loose." it begged, "We will show you many wonders. Release us."   
  
The voices were now no longer outside of Harry, but within him. "Release us." It rasped from the recesses of Harry's skull.   
  
Release you from what? Harry asked.   
  
"From our prison. We yearn to be free."   
  
Why should I do what you want?   
  
"We will give you everything. You will have power over all, even he that you fear." The voice echoed within Harry's ears.  
  
How do you know whom I fear?  
  
"We see all, know all...we are bonded with you. We are you."  
  
"No!" Harry said aloud. He felt Selene's hand on his arm.   
  
"Harry, don't listen." she whispered. "It is the Book of Carmen, don't listen. Block it out."  
  
Harry obeyed. He thought of anything to keep his mind of the voices. He thought of playing wizard's chess with Ron, Quidditch, dancing with Ginny. Finally the voices died within his head, but the one that replaced it was not any better.  
  
"Harry Potter." a harsh voice said, piercing the silence of the room. "It seems that fate has brought us together once more."   
  
****************************************************  
  
  
  
A/N: In case any of you are confused, the reason why Harry's conversation with the Book of Carmen, wasn't in quotation marks is because it was inside his head. No one, including Voldemort, heard what was said. I hope I'm not insulting anyone's intelligence by stating this, but I know how the conversation played out, because I'm writing it. I just hope that it makes sense to my readers. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming! -R 


	17. The Book of Carmen

Here is Chapter 17, FINALLY! I thought my muse had left for good this time. I wanted to be able to do this chapter and its characters justice and I hope I have. This chapter is a good bit longer than the others for two reasons. First as an apology to my faithful readers for leaving them with a cliffhanger for so long, and two because I didn't want to interrupt the flow of the story. Although the chapter is long, it takes place in a relatively short span of time, about thirty or forty minutes. Anyway, enough babble, on with the story....  
  
Daydreaming: In response to your question, the Book of Carmen contains very powerful spells. Among them is the one that Voldemort is planning to use in order to steal Selene's magic. Dumbledore referred to it in chapter 9, although he didn't refer to it by name. Selene did in chapter 15, and spoke of its ability to call to magmani. Hope that answers your question and thanks for the review. -R  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 17: The Book of Carmen  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Harry felt his body go rigid. He still couldn't see Voldemort, so he stared instead at the direction of the voice. It seemed that Voldemort was waiting for a response, probably only so he could mock him, but it was Selene who spoke next.  
  
"It wasn't fate that brought us together, it was your twisted mind."  
  
A shrill laugh was heard and then suddenly a light appeared. Its source was Lord Voldemort's wand and it cast an eerie light throughout the room. He then used the wand to light a small fire in a corner of the room allowing all three occupants to see each other clearly for the first time. "At last I come face to face with the red witch!" he said as his eyes locked on Selene. She met his gaze, and in the dim light Harry could not mistake the look of pure hatred he saw on her face. "I have so wanted to met you." Voldemort said slyly. "And to think that I have both you and Harry Potter in the same room, and both at my disposal, it almost makes these past fourteen years bearable!"  
  
As if she suddenly remembered that Harry was in the room, Selene stood up quickly and moved in front of Harry, "We are not at your disposal!" she spat at him, anger and hate clear in her voice. Harry sat still behind his aunt, his scar still burning and fear running through him. As selfish as it seemed, he wanted Selene to fight this fight. He was so tired of fighting battles where the odds were greatly against him.   
  
"But you are, Selene." Voldemort said. He thrust the book he was carrying at Selene, "You know what this is, don't you?" he asked. Harry saw Selene stiffen in front of him. Harry also stiffened as he once again felt the whispers clawing at his mind.  
  
When Selene didn't answer Voldemort put the book on the ground and opened it. As soon as he did the whispers of the Book flooded Harry's mind. He forced himself to look at it, but regretted it immediately. It seemed that Harry could now see the worms of thought as they reached out for him. He closed his eyes, but open or shut the images were clear in his mind.  
  
Whatever Harry saw or heard, it was tenfold for Selene. It wasn't mere whispers that Selene heard; instead her entire head was full of voices, calling for her, pleading for her to set them free. Selene tried to resist, but when she did the voices turned to high pitch shrieks that threatened to drive her mad. She approached the book and Voldemort, the closer she came to the Book, the stronger its hold on her. Voldemort watched her approach, with what looked to be glee on his face as he watched Selene battle the Book's call. Harry grabbed his aunt trying to pull her back, but as soon as he touched her, he felt his scar explode with pain. He jerked back and felt his whole body spasm in response to his head, which he was sure was ripping at the site of his scar.  
  
Harry watched helplessly as Selene approached the book. She stood there with her foot touching the binding and appeared as if she was contemplating what to do next. She knelt down next to the book and tried to shut it, but Voldemort grabbed her hand before she could do it. She recoiled at his touch, but he held her firmly. He brought her quickly to her feet and pulled her close to him and whispered into her ear.  
  
"What does the book say to you? What secrets does it hold?" he rasped into Selene's ear.   
  
She could feel Voldemort's breath against her skin and his body pressing against hers. Between the Book and his presence, Selene didn't know how long she was going to be able to withstand either. She hoped that Harry would be able to find a way to escape quickly, before it was too late.  
  
Voldemort, aggravated by her lack of response threw her down. He went over to Selene and pulled her to her feet once more, "Tell me!" he yelled at Selene grabbing her shoulders and shaking them.  
  
Selene stared into the soulless eyes of her adversary and within them she found something that she hadn't expected, desperation. Something suddenly occurred to her and she forced herself to look upon the Book of Carmen, which still lay open on the floor. Upon the cream colored pages were symbols and words etched in crimson ink. The words themselves made no sense to her, but when she looked at them, the voices that came from the Book seemed to be reading the words for her and to her. "He doesn't know how to read the Book. He can't hear the voices." She thought to herself. A smile crept over her face, which only infuriated the Dark Lord more.   
  
"What is it witch?" he snarled. "Why are you smiling?"  
  
"You need me more than you originally thought." She answered. "The Book of Carmen cannot be read by anyone besides a magmanos! You don't know which spell to use, do you?"  
  
Voldemort released Selene and she sagged to the floor. The effort it was taking to hold off the voice of the Book was draining her, but her voice remained strong, "Did you honestly think you could trick me into giving you what you wanted? Is your ego so great that you think I would do your bidding simply if you asked me? You are a fool Voldemort."  
  
"If nothing else, these past fourteen years have taught me to plan ahead. Yes, finding out I was unable to read the Book of Carmen was a stumbling block in my plans, but nothing that I hadn't planned for. I also knew that you would never willing give me the information that I desired." He stopped long enough to approach Selene with his wand raised to her, "At least not without an incentive."  
  
"So you are going to kill me to get the spell you need to take my magic? A little counterproductive don't you think?" Selene said sarcastically.  
  
"Kill you? Oh no my dear. The magic that lies within you is to be my most powerful weapon. I would not chance hurting that power. However..." Voldemort turned his wand on Harry, "he will do just nicely."  
  
As soon as Voldemort finished he sent a reign of fire upon Harry in the form of the Cruciatus Curse. Harry felt every muscle in his body seize simultaneously as the curse burned his skin. His back spasmed so hard he was sure it was going to break, and soon pain was Harry's whole world. He was so consumed by it that he couldn't hear his aunt pleading with Voldemort.  
  
"Voldemort stop! He's only a child!" Selene cried.  
  
"His age does not matter to me."  
  
Selene knew that if she denied Voldemort, he would kill Harry. However if she helped Voldemort, he would still kill Harry. Logic told her that if Voldemort managed to obtain her power the death count would be much greater that her and Harry, and she must not let him take her magic. But as she watched her nephew convulse on the floor, logic took no hold on her heart, she couldn't let him die, not this way.  
  
"Stop it." She said softly, her energy spent. "I will do what you ask."  
  
"Very well." Voldemort said and lifted the spell. Harry's body still shook, but the pain was gone. Exhausted, he made no effort to move from the floor. Voldemort walked over to where Selene was and knelt down in front of her long enough to ask, "You still think me a fool?"  
  
Selene felt the last remaining bit of hope she had fade away.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
The two would be rescuers crouched within an alcove, waiting for the approaching Death Eaters to pass. Sirius clenched his fist in frustration. He hated waiting, and what he hated even more than waiting was hiding, which was exactly what they had been doing ever since they entered the building.  
  
Sirius knew why there were so few Death Eaters outside; it was because they were all inside. He and Ron had not been able to move any further than a few feet from the door, because as soon as they took a step, another Death Eater would appear, forcing them back into their hiding place.  
  
Sirius held his breath as the Death Eaters passed by he and Ron. Like all the others, they too passed by the alcove without seeing the two that crouched within it. Sirius found himself perplexed at their behavior. The alcove was shallow and although the room was dark, anyone with half of their senses intact would be able to spot he and Ron quite easily. He smiled thinking that crediting a Death Eater with any type of sense was quite a jump. However, his smile faded quickly when he realized what would make a Death Eater drop his guard. Invincibility. Sirius' blood ran cold as he thought that they might already be too late, that Voldemort had already killed...no...he wouldn't let himself finish that thought. But an overwhelming urgency to find his wife and his godson overtook him and he decided that he was going to make a run for it, and to hell with the Death Eaters. He was about to make a mad dash down the hall when he felt Ron grab his arm.  
  
"What are you doing?" The boy whispered.  
  
"I can't wait any longer, it is useless to hide. I have to find them."  
  
"What about the Death Eaters?" Ron said nodding in the direction of where the last set had come from.  
  
"I will kill them if needs be."  
  
"With what? Harsh language?" Ron said. Sirius glared at him, but the boy didn't seem to notice. "Look, let's go over our situation. We are two wizards up against at least twenty Death Eaters, that we've seen. Those are normally poor odds, but once you add in the fact that you are not only hurt but are also wandless * and * weaponless, takes you out of the equation.  
  
Sirius' glare deepened, but Ron didn't care.  
  
"So that leaves me, an underage wizard who has problems turning beetles into butterflies. Do you still think that a head to head combat situation is still in our best interest?"  
  
Sirius knew Ron was right, which only increased his already growing frustration at the whole situation. "We do them no good by hiding." he said flatly.  
  
"We do them no good by dying either." This time Ron met Sirius' gaze and saw as if for the first time how desperate the older wizard was to retrieve the two he had lost. "Listen Sirius, I know Harry better than anyone, and I know that the death of his parents plagues him more than he lets on. I also know that there are times that he feels like giving up, but all that changed when you reappeared. Knowing that he had some sort of family, boosted Harry's spirit more than Hermione and I have ever done. So I'm not going to stand by and let you run off and get yourself killed."  
  
Sirius looked at the boy with complete amazement. He had always seen Ron as the tall, lanky, happy-go-lucky counterpart to Harry. He had never realized how deep their friendship was.  
  
"He's lucky to have you as a friend." Sirius said.  
  
"Isn't everyone?" Ron said, the intense seriousness of his face replaced with his usual smile.  
  
Sirius shifted in the alcove, "Still, time is slipping away from us. We need to get past these Death Eaters and find out where they are holding Selene and Harry. But you would have to be damn near invisible to get past them."  
  
"Bloody hell!" Ron cried, "Invisible, of course! I completely forgot!" Ron started rummaging through his robes. Sirius thought the boy had gone completely out of his mind until Ron pulled out a small bundle of cloth, which he unfurled and Sirius recognized it to be James' invisibility cloak. "With all the excitement I forgot that I had it!"  
  
"I'm certainly glad you remembered." Sirius said fingering the soft material, which brought back so many memories of his own adventures underneath it.  
  
The two wrapped the cloak around their shoulders. When they were protectively encased under the transparent fabric they took a look down the two ends of the hallway when another problem arose.  
  
"Okay, now which we do we go?" Ron asked.  
  
Sirius shrugged before realizing how painful the action would be, his body aching from the curse. "I don't know." he said. The door that they had come through had opened into the center of a long hall. Each side looked identical to the other, giving no clues about the direction they should take. Instinct told him right, but if he was wrong there would be no time to retrace their steps. Sirius sighed heavily, his wounds once again making themselves apparent.   
  
As if from nowhere the sounds of footsteps were heard, approaching from the left and the sound of voices followed. Sirius froze, momentarily forgetting that he was under the protection of the cloak. He and Ron moved to the side, so they wouldn't bump into the Death Eaters who were completely immersed in conversation, talking in low hushed voices, signaling that they were up to no good, even for Death Eaters. Sirius strained to hear what they were saying and managed to pick out a few words.  
  
"He's there...her and the boy...it is beginning..."  
  
The other Death Eater replied, "We shouldn't...strict orders...what if..."  
  
The first Death Eater cut him off with a word that sounded to Sirius much like "coward." The Death Eaters walked by where Sirius and Ron were standing and when they did, their voices became clearer, "Once in a lifetime, to see such a thing would be great indeed. Stay if you choose, but I intend to see the transformation." The other Death Eater nodded reluctantly and they continued down the hallway.  
  
Sirius looked at Ron and it was obvious by the look on his face that he had heard exactly what Sirius had. They silently agreed on what would be their next course of action and took off in the direction of the two Death Eaters.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
Voldemort plopped the heavy book down in front of Selene, the impact of it lifting a thin cloud of dust from the floor. Selene's attention, however, was on Harry who still lay unmoving on the floor. She hated herself for what she had brought upon him, and for what she was about to do, but she was all out of options. She would have sacrificed everything to save Lily, and it was no different with Harry.  
  
"Read." Voldemort said. His voice not unlike the Book's as it weaved through her mind. To emphasize his point, Voldemort once again raised his wand to Harry, but stopped when Selene began to slowly turn the pages of the book.  
  
Selene was not prepared for what came next. Once she touched the pages, the voices, which had been lying dormant, once again tore through her mind. This time, however, they were not merely screaming and pleading. Instead they were reading the content of the pages to her, hundreds of voices at once that read different parts of the book simultaneously...  
  
"Fire and ash ...one is needed...ripping through ...two is preferred...skin and muscle...hate is given...green is the hue...love refused...sin of the guilty blood...the will perishes...of the unborn...two become one...the light is gone...putrid the smell...the power is transformed...the end...an innocence ends...becomes...the fire dies...becomes the beginning..."  
  
On and on the voices spoke to Selene, but she centered on a particular voice, "Two become one...the power is transformed." As soon as she fixed her mind on that voice, the others died down. "The power flees the breast of one and rests in the other...two become one...the power is transformed...the fire bird flees...two become one." Selene's heart beat faster. This was the one spell that she needed.  
  
Apparently her face revealed her discovery because Voldemort's voice filtered through the others, "You've found it. Now release it, send your power to me or the boy will suffer."   
  
"You will kill him anyway."  
  
"True. But if you don't do what I say I will arrange something much worse than death for him." He spat out the last word like a serpent.  
  
Selene began to repeat the words that she heard the voice whisper to her. As soon as the first word left her lips, she felt her magic burn within her, pushing against her skin. Selene knew that the magic that the book contained was hideously evil, her own magic not being able to hear it spoken. Still she spoke the next word and the next until her insides felt like they were about to burst through her skin. She fell backwards, semi-conscious, unable to speak the last word of the spell.  
  
Unknown to her or Voldemort, Harry had come to his senses and had watched the scene with horror. He knew what was happening to Selene, because unlike Voldemort he had understood every word that she had said.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Hermione watched the night creep on. The rain had stopped and the wind had died down, but this had done nothing to alleviate her worries. It had been over twenty minutes since Ron and Sirius had disappeared into the strange building. She had promised Sirius to go for help if they were not back, but Hermione found herself unwilling to do so. She couldn't leave her friends, while she fled for help. Hermione knew that if she did, they would all be dead by the time she returned.   
  
She felt completely useless sitting in the brush, waiting for them to return, or waiting to be caught by the Death Eaters. She had had to perform her confusion spell a few more times to keep the Death Eaters away from her, but she knew they would soon grow suspicious and find her eventually. She suddenly wished she had the invisibility cloak with her.  
  
"Hermione calm down." She chided herself. This type of panic was not appropriate for the top student at Hogwarts. "If they figure out this spell you can simply come up with another one." she paused, listening as some animal moved through the surrounding trees. "After all, you're smart, everyone always tells you that." she said in quivering voice. Hermione didn't feel very smart now, instead she felt terrified. But then again put anyone else in this situation and they would be scared too, she thought. She smiled as she envisioned Malfoy out in the woods alone shaking and calling for his mum.   
  
Her confidence had slowly returned, when she heard footsteps approaching. Her terror returning she scrambled behind a large tree and waited. The footsteps had surprised her because they were coming from behind her, rather than in front. The Death Eaters must have circled around, trying to pinpoint the noises her spell was making. She cursed herself for not realizing the risk. Hermione looked around realizing how desperate her situation had become. She couldn't move away from the footsteps, as that would lead her straight into the eyesight of the Death Eater guarding the door. Nor could she move to the right or left, which would also bring her into view of the Death Eater. So she waited, her heart beating louder as the footsteps grew nearer. She peered around the tree and saw the tall grass and low branches of other trees move as they were swept aside by the oncoming shoes and robes. Finally when they had almost reached her tree she jumped from her hiding place and pointed her wand at whoever had stumbled across her. What she saw made her drop her wand, "Pro..Professor?"  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
"Get up witch!" Voldemort screamed, and reached down to grab Selene by the collar of her robes and lift her head to his. "I said get up and finish what you..." he was cut of by what he saw when he turned towards the Book of Carmen. Harry Potter was standing there with the Book tucked firmly under his arm. Having the Book shut again brought Selene back to her senses.  
  
"PUT THAT DOWN BOY!" Voldemort shrieked with a voice that made every inch of Harry's skin crawl.  
  
"Let her go!" Harry yelled.  
  
Voldemort laughed mirthlessly, "Or what? You will fight me? Fine, I'll pry the book from your cold fingers then."  
  
"It seems you forget what happened the last time we fought. It didn't go very well for you did it?" Harry said, not knowing where he had found the courage to say it.  
  
Voldemort dropped Selene back to the floor, exactly what Harry had wanted. He then approached Harry, "I assure you the outcome will be different this time!"  
  
"Oh like when I overcame Tom Riddle? Or when I defeated you as an infant?" The last comment struck a nerve with Voldemort who now was beside himself with fury. Selene forgotten, he lunged at Harry who dodged him. Voldemort quickly recovered and was about to strike at Harry again when Harry opened the Book of Carmen long enough to tear out the page that Selene had been reading. The Book screamed and Harry's mind was once again flooded with voices. This time they were screaming in pain. Harry glanced quickly at Selene, her face was tight showing that she heard exactly what he did. The noise grew so intense that Harry threw the book against the wall, trying to get it as far away from him as possible.   
  
If it was possible, Voldemort's eyes narrowed even further, and Harry could feel his gaze burning through him. Whatever happened next, Harry knew things were not going to go well for him. Still his mind was made up on what he was going to do next. He turned to Selene, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you do it." And with all the courage he could muster he tore the page in small pieces. "Leave my family alone Voldemort!"   
  
Voldemort exploded with rage, his speech becoming more serpent-like, and his movements less human. "Then join me in hell, Harry Potter." Harry then recognized an all too familiar green light coming towards him, and was vaguely aware that Selene was screaming his name.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Ron and Sirius had been following the two Death Eaters for what seemed like hours. It had appeared that this old building had hundreds of doors and even more twists and turns. Sirius had tried to memorize the way back to the front door, but had soon given up. However, now they had abandoned the doors and corners for stairs, lots of stairs. At least it seemed to be a great number to Sirius, who was beginning to feel the impact of his wounds constantly. He stopped momentarily and leaned against the wall. Ron stopped with him and mouthed, "Are you okay?" Sirius nodded, and the two continued.  
  
Sirius slipped his hand under his robes, and felt the makeshift bandages that Hermione had made. They were still wrapped tightly around him, but when he withdrew his hand, it was wet with blood. He wiped it of quickly, but finally had to admit to himself, that if he didn't get help soon, he was going to be of use to no one. Finally the stairs leveled off and the two followed the others down yet another long hallway. The hallway ended with a set of very large oak doors. The Death Eaters stopped and one of them put their ear to the door. He nodded and the other mumbled a few words, making a small section of the wood almost transparent.   
  
Ron squinted and he could see three figures. He immediately recognized one to be Harry, and he stepped forward tripping on the edge of the invisibility cloak and landing with a hard thud. The Death Eaters turned and saw them. Ron hurriedly picked himself off the floor and stood beside Sirius. The two Death Eaters approached as Sirius and Ron struggled to put the cloak back on again. They succeeded just in time to avoid an onslaught of curses. However, the Death Eaters knew they were there and sent curse after curse into the hallway hoping that one would hit its mark. "Sirius I have an idea." Ron said, as they just barely missed getting hit by the same curse Sirius had been hit with earlier.   
  
"What?" Sirius asked, breathing heavily.  
  
"What we need is a decoy. And luckily, decoy is my middle name."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Sooner or later they are going to hit us, so I'll get out from under the cloak..."  
  
"No."  
  
"And you can get them from behind."  
  
"I said no. They will kill you."  
  
"No one can catch a Weasley, just ask Fred and George. Besides if we just sit here, they will kill us anyway."  
  
"Then let me go."  
  
"I don't think so." Ron said thrusting his wand into the older wizard's hand. "Beetles and butterflies, remember?"  
  
And before Sirius could stop him, Ron left the concealment of the cloak and ran in front of the two Death Eaters. They saw him immediately. Sirius ran behind the Death Eaters unseen, the room was dancing with the light of the spells from the Death Eaters' wands. Finally Sirius found a good angle and with Ron's wand he lifted the two cloaked figures into the air and sent them crashing into each other, rendering them both unconscious.  
  
Sirius found Ron who, besides having singed hair, appeared to be fine. Sirius had just touched the handle of the door when they heard Selene scream behind it and a green light flashed under the door.   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Harry instinctively put his hand out in front of him, to block the curse, although he knew it would do nothing. However, as soon as the green light touched his hand he felt a rush of warmth flow through his body and out of his hand. "Selene's magic." he thought. It was protecting him from the curse. The green light surrounded his body, but could not touch him.  
  
Selene watched her magic protecting Harry, but she knew it would not last for long. Even a powerful magmanos could not stand against the Avada Kedavra curse for long, meaning that her magic only provided Harry with mere seconds of protection.   
  
She scrambled across the room to where the Book was laying. She flipped through the pages, and for the first time welcomed the voices she heard. She listened for a particular voice, which finally stirred in her ear. She concentrated on it, trying hard to remember every word.   
  
Harry felt his body getting heavier, the green light coming closer to his flesh. He felt like his life was slowly being sucked away from him.   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Sirius grabbed the doorknob and tried to turn it, but it was locked. Fear coursed through his veins. Foolishly he threw himself against the doors, but was rewarded only by a wave of pain that echoed throughout his body. Ron pulled at the knob as hard as he could, and when that didn't work he kicked the doors in anger. Sirius, using his good shoulder, pushed against the doors and Ron soon joined him. The two pushed with all their might, but the great doors would not budge.   
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Selene stood up and walked over to Voldemort who said, "I'm about to break through. In a few more seconds your nephew will be dead, just like your sister."  
  
Selene walked around Voldemort almost seductively waving her hand in front of him, "You wanted to feel my magic coursing through your veins, then I grant you your wish." She then grabbed Voldemort's arm and began repeating the new spell out loud. She felt her own magic rise up against her words and threatened to lash out at her once more. This time however, she would not allow it. As she said the words, tears streaked down her face. She knew what she was sacrificing in doing this, the risk she was taking. But it had to be done, Harry could not be killed, and Voldemort could not come to power again, no matter what the price.  
  
Suddenly the Avada Kedavra curse lifted, and Harry fell to the floor. He looked at Selene and as the magic left his body, he managed to hear her say, "Through the sin of the guilty what was separate is parted, what was parted joined, the body perishes, the spirit remains...." The magic left him then, and he could no longer understand what Selene was saying, but he wasn't sure he wanted to hear anymore. The sounds he heard were harsh and cold, and her voice sounded much like the voice of the Book. However, it was the look on Voldemort's face that stunned Harry, Voldemort looked terrified. The last thing Harry saw before unconsciousness overtook him was a bright yellow light that consumed both Selene and Voldemort.  
  
The oak doors suddenly flung themselves open, spilling Sirius and Ron unto the floor. Ron looked up, preparing himself to see Voldemort, but he wasn't there. The room was incredibly dark, a small amount of light from the hall lit the room enough so that Ron could make out the figure of Harry, who was lying on his side a few yards away from him. Ron moved towards his friend and turned him on his back, and saw that he was breathing. A wave of relief swept over him and he called out, "Sirius, Harry's okay, knocked out, but okay." When he didn't receive an answer he looked around and squinted through the darkness to see Sirius kneeling next to what appeared to be Selene, "Is she okay?" he called into the darkness. It took a few seconds for Sirius to reply, and Ron found himself holding his breath.  
  
"She's okay." Sirius said. Ron released his held breath in a deep sigh.  
  
Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching once more. "Oh no." said Ron, fear filling him again, at the thought of more Death Eaters. Ron closed his eyes as he heard the footsteps get closer and closer and finally step through the door. He opened his eyes slowly and saw..."Hermione!" he yelled. He blinked twice to make sure it was her, and watched as she came over to him and looked at Harry.  
  
"Is he okay?" she asked.  
  
"I think so. How did you get down here?" he asked her and she turned aside so he could see that Dumbledore stood in the doorway, along with Snape. He would have almost preferred a Death Eater to the look on the latter's face.  
  
Dumbledore walked over and knelt down beside Sirius "How is she?"   
  
"Alive." he said.  
  
Dumbledore breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's get them out of here."   
  
"Headmaster." Snape said picking up a book that lay near Selene. "Is this..."  
  
"I'll take that Severus, thank you." Dumbledore said, taking the book from him. "Will you conjure up a stretcher here for Selene and I'll attend to Harry."  
  
"What is that?" Ron asked pointing to a lump of something that lay in the corner next to Selene. Dumbledore walked over to it and prodded it with his wand, discovering it to be only robes. The twinkle in his eyes died down and his face suddenly showed its age, "I believe that this is all that is left of Voldemort."  
  
"What?" Snape exclaimed, "How can that be?"  
  
Dumbledore clutched the Book of Carmen tightly, "That question is best left for another time."   
  
Sirius tried to stand up, and fell back to his knees. The events of the night had finally caught up with him and he found that his body would no longer respond to him. Dumbledore again knelt down, so he was face to face with the tired wizard. He examined his wounds. Sirius flinched whenever Dumbledore added the slightest bit of pressure to his aching body. "I could try to heal you, but the curse that did this is very complex, and best left to the professionals. Until then..." Dumbledore tapped his wand on Sirius' bandages, which became instantly clean. "That will have to do."  
  
Sirius nodded his appreciation and was attempting to stand once more when Dumbledore said, "Severus, help him."  
  
Both men looked at each other and then at Dumbledore. "Sir.." Snape started.  
  
"I'll be fine." Sirius said flatly.  
  
"You need help, Sirius. Severus if you please." Dumbledore said motioning to Sirius.  
  
Although the two men's hate for each other was great, their respect for Dumbledore was greater. They said nothing else, but neither tried to hide the disgust on their faces at having to be close to the other. Snape helped Sirius off the floor and then helped him walk to the center of the room. Dumbledore pulled another book from his robes, one wrapped in white linen.  
  
"Another portkey?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Yes. We found this one in the library, luckily no one tried to check it out." Dumbledore said and then grabbed the corner of Selene's stretcher and motioned for Ron to do the same with Harry's. "Now everyone touch a corner." Five hands grasped the small book and soon the dark room was quiet once more.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
A/N: I hope the chapter was worth the wait. Sadly, the story is almost at an end. I know this chapter leaves a few questions floating around, like... How did Dumbledore, Snape, and Hermione find them? How exactly did Selene defeat Voldemort? And is the Dark Lord finally gone for good? Well, never fear my friends, these will be answered in the next and final chapter. I will let you in on a little secret though. The building that Selene and Harry were kept in was not nearly as large as Sirius made it out to be. The effects of the curse, and the need to find Selene and Harry made him both slightly irrational and delirious.   
  
I do have a question for my wonderful reviewers out there. I am setting up this story so I can write a sequel to it, however that might be just because I don't want to let the story go. Please let me know what you think about the idea and if I should leave the story as it is or go on with it. The sequel would be much darker. Anyway let me know, and rest assured that if I do decide to do a sequel this part of the story will not end with a cliffhanger. 


	18. The Promise

Meg: Just wanted to let you know that I did not write the previous chapter in 45 minutes. I meant that the chapter took place in 45 minutes. The chapter took like three weeks to write. I thank you for the compliment though!   
  
This is it people, the end...  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 18: The Promise  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Selene squinted as light found its way into her eyes. Her sleep had been fitful, yet necessary, as the confrontation with Voldemort had left her completely drained of energy. As she opened her eyes and consciousness returned, she could still hear the sound of her voice mingled with that of the Book of Carmen. Dread overcame her when she thought about her actions and what she had done, and longed to fall back to sleep, but instead her partially opened eyes fell upon a pair of twinkling blue ones.  
  
Selene blinked several times to bring the room into focus and realized that it was Dumbledore who sat beside her. "Professor Dumbledore?" she asked.  
  
"Good morning Selene." He said quietly, the softness of his eyes and the tenderness of his voice made her momentarily forget her woes.  
  
Selene smiled softly and asked, "How is Harry?"  
  
"I'm afraid that Harry is still quite out of it, but he appears to be fine, especially after what he's been through. After all, he's the only person who has survived the Avada Kedavra curse twice."  
  
"Then you know what happened?" Selene asked.  
  
"Partly. I've pieced a few things together from what Ron and Sirius told me, and from my own intuition. I was hoping that you could fill in some of the blanks."  
  
"Ron and Sirius? What would they have known?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled slightly, "They were the first to find you."  
  
"They? You mean that Sirius..."  
  
"Came to your aid? Of course he did, he was the first to go." Dumbledore paused for a moment, "Does that surprise you?"  
  
Selene fingered the edge of her pillowcase in an effort to look as though she had control over her emotions. "I just thought, after what he said that night in Hogsmeade..."  
  
Dumbledore removed her hand from her pillowcase and placed it in his own, "Selene, many things change in this world, but I assure you that Sirius' love for you has not." He nodded to the other side of Selene's bed. She turned and saw Sirius in a chair next to her, asleep. He wore a loose fitting shirt that was unbuttoned revealing new bandages underneath, his right hand was also wrapped and lying in his lap. His left hand supported his head, which lolled slowly back and forth as he slept.  
  
"He would not leave your side. Madam Pomfrey received quite a shock upon seeing a convicted murderer in her hospital wing." Dumbledore smiled, "However, I think she has grown quite fond of him. He's the only person she's allowed to stay here overnight, including myself."  
  
As she looked at the sleeping Sirius, Selene wondered what had caused him to be wounded, "Is he ok?"  
  
"Yes. Sirius had quite a time trying to get to you and Harry, and I daresay that he will be sore for a while, but on the whole he faired quite well." Sirius stirred, slowly waking up, and Dumbledore thought that this would be a good time to make an exit, as he had some very confused Ministry members arriving the next day and he had countless things to do before they arrived. He rose from his seat, "If you don't mind, I'll leave you two alone now."  
  
Selene nodded, "There's something that I should tell you, concerning Volde..."  
  
Dumbledore cut off her words with a wave of his hand, "This is not the time to be discussing such things, we will talk later. Sirius is waking, and I believe you have far more pressing matters to attend to."  
  
At Dumbledore's words Selene turned once again to Sirius, she then turned back to say thank you to Dumbledore, but the old wizard was gone. She heard Sirius stir and turned her attention back to him.   
  
Sirius woke from his nap slowly. For the first time in days he had actually slept soundly and fought having to wake up. However when he finally opened his eyes, all thoughts of sleep were forgotten as he saw Selene looking back at him. Her brilliant red hair and green eyes were a stark contrast to the paleness of her skin and the white of the pillows and sheets that surrounded her. At that moment Selene reminded Sirius of an ice sculpture, something so beautiful and tangible, yet fragile and evanescent.  
  
Sirius moved closer to her and smiled softly, "How are you?" he asked.  
  
"I'm okay."   
A pause followed, as the two tried to figure out how to say what they knew needed to be said, how to express emotions that had been denied to them both for so long.  
  
"You came." Selene said finally.  
  
"Of course I came." Sirius said, "Did you believe that I would abandon you?"  
  
"But that night, you turned me away ..." Selene said, tears clear in her eyes.   
  
Sirius hated himself for having caused her pain and stroked the side of her face with the back of his hand, wishing that he could wipe away every hurt within her. "I have made many mistakes in my life, but the biggest mistake was in letting you walk out of that cave without me." he said softly to her. He stood and placed his hands on either side of her body and leaned in close, their faces no more than a foot apart. "I'm sorry Selene. Can you forgive me for being so blind?"  
  
When he moved over Selene his unopened shirt fell against the sheets, the corner of it touching her hand. Again she looked at the bandages that covered his chest and arm. She reached up and touched them gently, knowing that he already had her forgiveness. She only hoped that when the truth of her own actions came to light, she would have his. She smiled and nodded, not yet daring to trust her own voice.  
  
Sirius' hardened face softened, his stoic look gone and replaced with a soft smile that melted years from his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two golden rings. Selene, although surprised at what he held, said nothing. Sirius looked at the rings briefly and then returned his gaze to Selene, "The first time we put these rings on we promised to love and to trust each other. I'm afraid that I broke that promise when I turned you away, but never for one second did I stop loving you. So with your permission..." he paused only long enough to remove Selene's hand from his chest and slip the smaller of the rings onto her finger, "I would like to try again."  
  
Selene sat up slowly and took the other ring from Sirius' hand, and repeating his own actions, slipped it onto his finger, "So would I." she said.  
  
Sirius pulled his wife close and held her. He soon felt her arms reach around him carefully and return the embrace. Sirius felt the warmth of her skin against his, and breathed in deeply, allowing the smell of her hair to fill his senses. Selene leaned back against her pillows and brought Sirius with her, his head coming to rest on her chest. Her heartbeat reverberated within his ears and echoed throughout his body. He found himself drifting back to sleep, the pain and torment of the last fourteen years forgotten, replaced by a wonderful sense of peace.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
When Dumbledore returned to the hospital wing that night he found Sirius and Selene talking softly. As he approached the couple he gave a polite nod to Madam Pomfrey who was keeping a silent watch over a sleeping Harry.   
  
Selene saw Dumbledore approach. He nodded to her, signaling that it was now time for them to talk. Dumbledore hated to take Selene away from Sirius so soon after they were truly reunited, but there were questions that needed answers, and Selene was the only one that could provide them.   
  
Selene nodded and got up from the bed. Sirius started to follow her, but she stopped him by whispering something into his ear. Sirius nodded and sat back down, but it was obvious that he still wanted to follow her. Dumbledore waited while Selene slipped on some clean clothing and the two left the hospital wing and traversed the long hallways of Hogwarts. They said little as they walked and were met by few students or professors, as it was past ten, and most students and personnel had retired to their respective towers.  
  
Finally they reached an empty classroom and the two entered. Dumbledore pulled a chair from behind a student's desk and sat down, while Selene stood at the window fingering her ring. "Where should I start?" she asked.  
  
"I always find that it helps to start at the beginning."  
  
Selene took a deep breath and nodded, "I remember waking up and finding that Harry was with me," she said and then continued to tell Dumbledore the events of that awful night, trying not to leave out a single detail. Every once in awhile Dumbledore would nod or ask a question, but on the whole he said very little.  
  
Selene told all of the events up to when Harry was struck with the Avada Kedavra curse and then paused. At first Dumbledore thought that she was trying to remember what had happened, but the look on her face told him that she knew exactly what happened, she just didn't, or couldn't, tell him. Dumbledore tried to make things a little easier for her, "Selene, we will take this a step at a time. Harry ripped up the spell that could transfer your magic to Voldemort, is this correct?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Voldemort than performed the Avada Kedavra curse on Harry."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"However, the small amount of magic that you transferred to Harry kept him safe."  
  
"Yes, momentarily."  
  
"Then what did you do?"  
  
Selene swallowed hard, "I ran to the Book of Carmen looking for a spell I could use against Voldemort."  
  
"Which spell?"  
  
"One that would keep Harry safe..."  
  
"Which spell Selene?"  
  
"and eliminate Voldemort as a threat."  
  
"Selene, you need to tell me which spell you used."  
  
A tear rolled down Selene's face, "Geist Legatura."  
  
Dumbledore sank into his chair, feeling a deep sense of woe and foreboding. Dumbledore knew that Geist Legatura was a binding spell, and an evil one at that. The spell gives the caster control over the very spirit of his victim. However, Dumbledore thought darkly, that was not the only thing it does. It binds the spirits of the caster with that of the victim, the two become one. Selene's spirit was bound to Voldemort's. "Selene..."  
  
"There was no other way!" she said defensively, wiping her face with her hand. "He was going to kill Harry!"  
  
"You know what this means."  
  
"Yes! Of course I do! Voldemort is not dead. His spirit remains! My sin allowed that monster to live, but what choice did I have? To let the child die like his mother?"  
  
Dumbledore stood and walked over to Selene who was visibly shaking. Now face to face with her, he said, "You were not responsible for Lily or James' death, I know you think you are, but you are not."  
  
"But my magic..."  
  
"Is not all-powerful, nor are you. Selene, you are human. Nothing more, nothing less."  
  
Selene wiped her face again, ashamed of the weakness that she was exhibiting in front of Dumbledore. "Where is the Book of Carmen?" she asked.  
  
Dumbledore looked concerned, "Why do you ask?"  
  
"I bound his spirit to those pages, Voldemort is in the Book. The Book must be kept safe."  
  
"I give you my word that the Book of Carmen will be well protected." Dumbledore said and then lowered his head, his eyes looking at Selene over the top of his spectacles, "from everyone."  
  
Selene nodded.  
  
When Dumbledore was convinced that Selene had told him everything that she could he said, "Let's go back to the hospital wing and see how your nephew is faring." He offered his arm to Selene who hesitantly took it and the two left the classroom.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Sirius had gotten tired of waiting around in the hospital ward and so he decided to take a walk. Although Madam Pomfrey had mended his hand, it was still quite sore, which disabled him from changing into his animagus form. Instead Sirius used the dark corridors of Hogwarts as a disguise.  
  
He had walked the distance of one of the longer halls and was about to turn around and head back when he ran into Snape.   
  
"What are you doing lurking around in the dark, Black?" Snape snarled.  
  
Sirius tried to ignore Snape and walk past him, but Snape grabbed his arm and pull him back into a wall. Sirius grimaced as his wounded arm hit stone.  
  
"I thought you might still be feeling the affects of the curse," Snape hissed. "Danus Infernis is a particularly nasty curse, designed for the likes of you," he added pushing Sirius' arm further into the wall. "To bad the Death Eater didn't finish you off."  
  
"Get away from me!" Sirius yelled, pushing the other wizard away from him. He was going to say something else, when he heard Selene's voice coming down the hall mingled with the voice of Dumbledore. He glared at Snape before turning away from him and following the direction of the voices.  
  
"That's right, walk away Sirius. Go back to your whore."  
  
Without thinking, Sirius turned back and hit Snape as hard as he could. Snape staggered backwards, surprised at the action, but Sirius was upon him in no time. He grabbed Snape by the neck and pushed him against the wall. He leaned closer to Snape, tightening his grip on the wizard's throat. "Go on...Go on and kill me then." Snape gasped, his air supply becoming dangerously thin.  
  
"Never...ever...insult my wife in my presence again or I will kill you." Sirius said and released Snape, who sagged against the wall.  
  
"Just as I thought." Snape said between deep breaths, "Sirius Black has lost his nerve. I suspected as much when I saw Pettigrew."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sirius said impatiently, Selene's voice coming closer.  
  
Snape smiled and straightened himself up, "You don't know do you? What a twist of fate."  
  
Sirius said nothing, but glared at Snape.   
  
"The two Death Eaters that you dispatched with in the lower levels of their keep, I found them. I also noticed that one had a silver hand."  
  
The realization suddenly struck Sirius, and it was clear on his face.  
  
Snape's smile widened, "You left Pettigrew alive...again. Your freedom was so close, but you left it behind when you left Pettigrew in that hallway."  
  
"You lie." Sirius said.  
  
Snape laughed, "Not this time." He then disappeared into another hallway just as Selene and Dumbledore approached Sirius.  
  
"Sirius?" Selene asked. When she didn't get a response she touched his arm. He jumped at her touch. "Are you okay?" she asked him.  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Dumbledore and I are going to see Harry. Would you like to join us?"  
  
Sirius shook his head, "No. I...um...need to be alone for a few minutes." He then smiled at Selene to assure her that he was okay and walked away.  
  
Selene started to follow, not convinced by the smile, but Dumbledore held her back, "Let him be," Dumbledore said, then watched as Sirius' figure disappeared, "He has his own demons to battle."  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Harry opened his eyes to a dark room. For a minute his stomach sank, fearing that he was once again in that dark room with Voldemort, but he saw the familiar tall windows of the hospital wing and his senses slowly returned.  
  
He saw a woman approach his bed and lean close to him, checking to see if he was awake. He didn't have his glasses on and so he couldn't figure out who this woman was.  
  
"Harry? Are you awake?" the woman asked, "It's Selene."  
  
"Selene?" he asked excitedly and fumbled for his glasses, "Are you okay? I saw all that yellow light and I thought that..."  
  
"I'm fine." Selene said, handing Harry his glasses from the table beside his bed.  
  
"What happened to you? To Voldemort? Is he dead?"  
  
Selene said nothing and walked to the end of Harry's bed.   
  
"I'm afraid that Voldemort was not killed, Harry." Another voice said from the darkness. Harry turned and saw Dumbledore approaching his bed, a lit candle in one hand. Dumbledore placed the candle on the bedside table and said, "Voldemort's body was indeed destroyed, but his spirit and his evil remain."  
  
Harry looked to Selene to see if she could explain Dumbledore's murky answer, but she wasn't looking at Harry, instead she was looking off into the distance, her mind somewhere else.  
  
"How?" Harry asked.  
  
"Selene performed a spell that encased Voldemort's spirit into the very pages of the weapon he sought to destroy the both of you with." Dumbledore explained.   
  
A shiver ran down Harry's spine as the image of the Book of Carmen and the voices flooded his memory. Trapped by those voices and bound with that eel-like evil seemed to be a fitting fate for Voldemort. "Can he get out?" Harry asked.  
  
"I'm afraid there is a way for Voldemort's evil to be released. But for that to happen, someone would have to find the Book of Carmen, which I assure you is quite well protected." Dumbledore looked up and saw Madam Pomfrey eyeing him suspiciously, "I'll be leaving shortly Poppy." He said to her and she smiled back. Dumbledore turned back to Harry, "Goodnight Harry. I'm glad to see that you are well again."  
  
As he watched Dumbledore leave, he was aware that Selene was moving beside him. "Harry." she said. Harry turned to face her and his green eyes locked on hers. "I just wanted to tell you that you did a very brave thing in tearing up that spell. Being able to put the lives of others before your own is a very admirable trait, and also very rare. Everyday I become more and more amazed by the famous Harry Potter." She said with a smile. "Your parents would be so proud of you."  
  
"My parents *are* proud of me." Harry replied.  
  
Selene smiled, "Yes, I'm sure they are." She leaned forward and kissed Harry gently on the forehead. She turned to leave but Harry stopped her, "Tell me about them."   
  
"What do you want to know?"  
  
"Everything. I don't know anything about them, except that they died trying to protect me. I'm tired of hearing about how they died. I want to know how they lived. I want to know things like what my dad's favorite food was and what my mother's favorite color was."   
  
"That I can help you with." Selene said and sat on Harry's bed. He moved over to make room for her and she put an arm behind him, bringing them closer together, so only the two of them would hear their words. "Cake. James could not turn down a piece of cake. In fact for his birthday Lily always made him two cakes. One he could share with family and friends, and one just for him. And Lily...Lily's favorite color was yellow, not a harsh bright yellow, but a softer shade. Frosty yellow she called it. The outside of their house was yellow, and she said that the color always reminded her of home."   
  
Selene talked all night to Harry about his parents and what they were like when they were alive. Even as the first rays of daylight filtered through the large windows opposite the bed, neither Selene nor Harry wanted the stories to end. Selene found comfort in telling Harry about her sister and James, she felt as if they were almost alive again. And for the first time Harry was able to know his parents as the happy and loving people that they were, and to him that was a very special gift.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Ron watched Hermione pace back and forth in front of him. She stopped only long enough to mumble a few words such as, "so much trouble" and "expelled." The scene would have been comical to him, but for the butterflies in his own stomach. "Hermione will you please stop doing that," he said to her impatiently.  
  
"Doing what?"  
  
"Pacing. It is driving me absolutely bonkers!"  
  
"Well I can't help it! When I get nervous I pace."  
  
"Clearly."  
  
"Its not like I don't have any good reason to be nervous. Dumbledore DID call us from class to his office, which I don't think has ever happened before. You ARE aware that we broke like fifty rules in doing what we did. Have you not SEEN the way Snape has been smiling, he knows that we are going to be expelled, what else could get him in such a good mood?"  
  
Ron started to answer, but Hermione didn't think that she wanted to hear Ron's answer, so she cut him off, "This is serious Ron!"  
  
"Don't you think I know that?" Ron said defensively. "I just don't see how digging a trench in front of Dumbledore's office is going to help our situation."  
  
Hermione, finally fed up with Ron, threw her hands in the air and turned around, her arms crossed and her lips tight. Eventually she heard Ron get up from his sitting position and walk over beside her. "Do you regret it Herm? Do you regret what we did?"  
  
"No." Hermione said softly, "And I would do it again."  
  
"Me too." Ron said, and put his arm around her. They had to wait only a few more minutes before they heard Dumbledore coming up the stairs. Hermione rubbed her stomach, her own butterflies rattling inside.   
  
"Ah, Ron and Hermione." Dumbledore said climbing the last of the stairs. "I'm glad Professor McGonagall allowed you a few minutes of class time to talk to me. Please come into my office."  
  
Ron and Hermione entered the office, both taking seats in front of Dumbledore's desk. Hermione, unable to contain herself any longer, said, "Professor, sir, I would just like to say..."  
  
Dumbledore raised a hand to silence her. Hermione shut up immediately. Ron figured that this was the first time that anyone had successfully silenced Hermione. "First," Dumbledore said, "I want to make it clear that no apologies for your actions are necessary. Although your actions were careless and foolhardy, the reasons behind them were not. I will not have anyone apologize for being a good friend in my school. Loyalty and courage are the strongest traits of any Gryffindor, and you two are fine examples to your house."  
  
Ron and Hermione exchanged quick smiles.  
  
"However, I can not overlook the danger you put yourselves in, nor can I forget your careless disregard for rules and authority. There are quite a few professors here who believe that I should expel you both."  
  
Ron chanced a look a Hermione who had turned whiter than he had ever seen Peeves look.  
  
"But there is something that must be taken into account. A certain wizard owes his life to you. Sirius has told me several times that he would have died if not for the care that you two provided for him. And upon seeing the nature of his wounds, I believe him. Therefore, your punishments are as follows. Hermione..."  
  
Hermione, if it were possible, turned whiter  
  
"Everyday for the next two months you will report to Madam Pomfrey after classes. You are to assist her with her work, and do whatever she needs of you. She has agreed to offer some pointers on how exactly to wrap wounds that were caused by curses," he said with a wink.  
  
To Ron the punishment sounded more like a learning experience, which to Hermione was hardly punishment. Ron watched the color slowly return to Hermione's face.  
  
"Mr. Weasley, since you believed yourself worthy of attacking a full grown Death Eater, you are to report to Hagrid, and help him with some of his more...err...interesting pets. You will begin working with Hagrid after your detentions with Mr. Malfoy are finished."  
  
Ron knew a thing or to about Hagrid's so-called "pets" and was somewhat afraid of what he might be asked to do, but time with Hagrid was definitely never boring, and considering how close he came to being expelled, Ron considered this punishment a blessing. He was looking forward to it more than he was to his detentions with Malfoy anyway.  
  
Dumbledore continued, "Now that that business is taken care of, I want to tell you something else. In a few minutes a collection of Ministry members will be joining us. They are understandably confused over the recent events, so I have invited them here in an effort to clear things up. I ask that you two stay, because you both have seen too much to be left in the dark now."  
  
Ron and Hermione looked at each other excitedly. Ron knew that underage witches and wizards were never invited to sit in on Ministry meetings; this had to be a first. Ron couldn't wait to tell Percy.  
  
Dumbledore continued, "I only ask two things of you. First, I ask that you do not reveal that Sirius and Selene are still at Hogwarts. The Ministry still sees Sirius as a murderer, and Selene isn't even supposed to exist. Second, I ask that you speak of this to no one. The information discussed in this room is not to leave this room. Do I make myself clear?"  
  
"Yes sir," answered both Hermione and Ron.   
  
"Good." Dumbledore said. No sooner had Ron relaxed in his chair, when a knock on the door signaled the Ministers' arrival, and Dumbledore left his seat to open the door. A group of highly agitated and talkative Ministry members, walked into the office.  
  
"Gentlemen, if you would please take a seat." Dumbledore said conjuring up eight additional chairs. Ron and Hermione pushed their chairs away from the center of the room. The Ministry members were so caught up in their own chatter that they didn't even notice the young witch and wizard.  
  
"Ron, do you know any of these people?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yeah, a few." Ron pointed over to a short balding man with red hair, "That's Ian Brady. He's the head of Magical Artifacts. The tall lanky blond over there is Elliot Spencer; he works in the office with Percy. I've run into him a couple of times, he's quiet, kind of creepy really. The guy talking to Fudge is Jacob...lon...lanc...Landford!" Ron said snapping his fingers, "Charlie worked with him in Romania. But I don't know why he would be here."  
  
"Let's get down to business." Fudge said, "Dumbledore what do you have to tell us?"  
  
"Patience Minister. First I would like to introduce you all to Miss Hermione Granger and a Mr. Ronald Weasley. They are here by my request."  
  
Ron and Hermione suddenly felt all eyes turn towards them. "Students? Really Albus, I hardly think our business concerns them." Fudge said.  
  
"It most certainly does! Our business concerns every student in Hogwarts, as well as every witch and wizard in England. Besides, they have information about events that I was not there to witness." Dumbledore said with such authority that even Fudge didn't press the matter. "Now, I will tell you of the events as I know them to be. Hermione and Ron, if there are any discrepancies in my story, feel free to correct me; I am only just beginning to understand what happened myself. Dumbledore cleared his throat and began, "There is no doubt that many remarkable events have transpired within the past week, and the actions of a few will have an impact on us all."  
  
Fudge interrupted, "Please Albus, tell us, is You Know Who gone for good?"  
  
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed at having been interrupted, again, but his voice showed no sign of annoyance, "Voldemort and his evil have been contained, he is no longer a threat."  
  
Fudge relaxed in his chair, "He is dead then."  
  
"No. I did not say that. I said his evil was contained, not destroyed. His spirit is contained within the Book of Carmen." Dumbledore looked at Ian Brady, knowing that he would have something to say.  
  
Indeed he did, "The Book of Carmen? Surely that is impossible! In order for someone to be able to use the Book of Carmen they would have to be a magmanos. The last magmanos died more than a hundred years ago." Brady then chuckled, "Unless of course you've been hiding one here." The rest of the Ministry members laughed at Brady's joke. Dumbledore smiled too, but not for the same reasons they did.  
  
"I assure you that the Book does contain the spirit of Voldemort and that a magmanos put him there," Dumbledore said and the laughter ceased immediately.   
  
"Where is she?" Fudge asked.  
  
"She? How do they know it's a she?" Ron whispered to Hermione.  
  
"Because magmani are almost always female," Hermione replied.  
  
"She is safe, but frightened," Dumbledore said.  
  
"So you know where she is then Albus?" Fudge asked. "I must insist that you tell us."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Fudge stood from his chair, "Because there is so much we could learn from her. She has the power to unlock the secrets of the Book of Carmen, something that we have been trying to do for years!"  
  
"You've been trying to what?" Dumbledore asked emphatically.  
  
"A group of us have come close to...well... you explain it Jacob."   
  
Jacob, seemingly surprised at having to say something, cleared his thought, "Before the Book was stolen we thought we had found a way to decode the text and gain access to the Book's magic."  
  
Dumbledore looked stunned. "I am very glad that you didn't succeed."  
  
"Then you don't understand the wonderful magic that the Book contains," Jacob added.  
  
Dumbledore shook his head, unwilling to believe the stupidity that he was hearing. "There are few things in this world that are without a degree of goodness, that are wholly evil, but I guarantee you that the Book of Carmen is such an object. You would be more likely to find goodness in Voldemort that in that Book! The only thing that book contains are instruments of death and destruction. Besides, once magmani are exposed to that magic it is very hard for them to turn the Book away, to give up the magic so to speak. No wonder the magmanos is terrified, seeing that this is the way you'd want her to use her power," Dumbledore said disgustedly.  
  
"If that is true, then why don't you destroy it? You said that only evil comes from the book and I happen to agree," Brady said, "Why don't we just toss it into a stove and be done with it?"   
  
The question took Dumbledore by surprise. He knew that the destruction of the Book would also mean the destruction of Selene. "We do not know the nature of the spell that the magmanos used to imprison Voldemort. For all we know, destroying the Book would release him, and I doubt anyone here would like to see that happen."  
  
"Then what are we to do?" Fudge asked.  
  
"My friends, I ask that you leave this matter to me. You have trusted me before when it came to dealing with important matters, and I hope that you are able trust my decisions once more. The Book of Carmen will be protected, and if the situation changes, you have my word that I will notify you."  
  
Fudge nodded and sat back down. "I for one do trust you Dumbledore, which is why I trust that you will answer my next question truthfully. There have been rumors that Sirius Black has been seen in the area, what do you know about this?"  
  
Dumbledore thought carefully about his response. True, he had wanted to avoid bringing Sirius into the conversation, but he felt he had no other choice. Telling Fudge about Sirius would reinforce Fudge's trust for him, and if he had that then Dumbledore knew that Selene and the Book would be safe from the meddlings of the Ministry. "Sirius Black has been to see me." The room grew quiet, no one knowing quite what to say.  
  
"He has? He got into Hogwarts? Again? Was anyone hurt?" Fudge asked.  
  
"Yes, but Sirius had nothing to do with it. The Death Eaters that got into the school were the real problem. Sirius came to help us."  
  
"To help?" Fudge laughed, "A convicted murderer? Surely Dumbledore you have more intelligence than to believe that slime like that would do anything to help you."  
  
"He did not kill those people!" Ron said before he could stop himself. He just couldn't stand to hear Sirius spoken of like that. Not after what the two of them had gone through to get to Harry and Selene. He was about to tell Fudge what he really thought of him when a look from Dumbledore stopped him.  
  
"Ah, the gullibility of youth." Fudge said in a patronizing tone.  
  
"You may not believe Ron, but trust me when I say that Sirius did come to our aid. When Harry Potter was taken, Sirius went after the Death Eaters who took him. He and Ron found Harry and the Book of Carmen before it was too late. We all owe him a debt of gratitude."   
  
Every Ministry member's mouth dropped. None could believe that Dumbledore spoke about Sirius Black in the manner that he did. "Believe what you want Dumbledore, but I am insisting on higher security here and at Hogsmeade. You can't trust Sirius Black, who knows what his motives were. Perhaps he did it only so he could gain your trust, thereby enabling him to stab you in the back later on," Fudge said and the other members nodded in agreement.  
  
Ron clenched his teeth together, to prevent himself from saying anything else.   
  
Fudge continued, "I hope that you aren't hiding him within these walls. If the parents of your students happened to find out that you are harboring a fugitive at Hogwarts, I'm afraid you would find these halls quite empty."  
  
"Is that a threat?" Dumbledore said quietly, but his words sounded harsh.  
  
"No, only a warning," Fudge said. "You have my trust that you will tell me if Black ever shows up again. And you have the full support of the Ministry in doing what you feel needs to be done with the Book of Carmen...for now. Now if you will excuse us, Headmaster," Fudge said and then turned to Ron and Hermione, "and Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger, we have some celebrating to do. You Know Who is gone, and that is a great thing indeed! Good-bye Albus, I trust that you'll keep in touch." Fudge stood and left the room, his colleagues right behind him, and soon the room was left with only its original occupants.  
  
"I can't believe that they didn't believe you about Sirius." Ron said.  
  
Dumbledore smiled, "I didn't think that they would, but Sirius is my friend, and as his friend I had to try." Dumbledore's eyes came to rest on Fawkes' cage, "I believe they are serving lunch in the Main hall. I suggest you two go get something to eat, and then visit Harry in the hospital wing. I'm sure he will be anxious to hear about your own adventures."  
  
Ron and Hermione left Dumbledore's office quickly and, abandoning their growling stomachs, headed straight for the hospital wing.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
As soon as Ron and Hermione left his office, Dumbledore walked over to Fawkes and let him nibble on his finger. He then reached behind the bird to a dusty bookcase where he removed a book. Dumbledore smiled to himself at the irony that the book for which the Ministry sought had been under their noses the entire time.  
  
He took the book and left his office. He had bound the book tightly and held it close to him. He descended into one of the many secret passageways of Hogwarts and walked for a long time until he surfaced within the boundaries of the Dark Forest. Although it was daytime, the thick canopy of trees overhead blocked any sunlight from hitting the ground below. Dumbledore leaned against a tree and waited for a few moments until a shadowy figure approached him. The figure was cloaked, and although Dumbledore could not see his face, he knew instinctively that it was who he had been waiting for. "I'm glad you could make it," Dumbledore said to the stranger.  
  
"I came as soon as I got your message," The man replied.  
  
"I know I am asking a lot of you, but you are one of the few people I know I can trust with this," Dumbledore said tapping the cover of the Book. "I'm afraid it cannot stay at Hogwarts, its evil is too great and the minds of the Ministry are too curious. I trust you will protect this with your life."  
  
"You have my word." The man said and took the book from Dumbledore, "It is true then, that Selene is alive?"  
  
"Yes it is."  
  
"Is it true that she used Geist Legatura?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The stranger snickered, "That sounds like something she would do, to risk everything for someone she loves."  
  
Strange howls were heard in the distance, "You better go," Dumbledore said and then smiled, "There might be wolves about."  
  
"Indeed there are." The stranger said and laughed again, a few strands of dusty brown hair escaping from his hood. He held the book tight just as Dumbledore had done, "I will protect this with my life."  
  
"Good. For it is not only your life that depends on it." Dumbledore clasped the man's hand, "Thank you." he said and the other man nodded and left, and Dumbledore climbed back into the passageway and made his way back to Hogwarts, feeling the need for a good nap before he continued with the business of the day.  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
When Ron and Hermione reached the hospital wing Harry was not there. He and Selene had abandoned the stuffy room for the gardens outside. The air was brisk, and Selene was once again clothed in her red robes. They passed few students, as most were eating in the main hall. The ones that they did pass were more interested in topics of Quidditch and homework then they were in the odd witch that they passed.   
  
Selene and Harry didn't notice the other students either. Although they had progressed from the hospital wing to the gardens, their topic of conversation had not changed. Selene could not believe how many stories she remembered about Lily and James. She told Harry all that she could remember and soon they had started talking about the Marauders. Harry laughed when he heard about all the trouble that Sirius, Remus, and his father had caused during their years at Hogwarts.   
  
"One Halloween Sirius decided that it would be a good idea to bewitch the food during the feast so that it moved every time you tried to stick a fork in it," Selene said and then laughed, "Of course food was everywhere and the students were crawling all over the tables and underneath trying to pin down their main course."   
  
"That was not my idea," a voice said from behind them. Harry turned around to find Sirius walking up behind them. "It was James'. It would have gone on for days as well, but someone ate the enchanted pumpkin that was the source of the spell. But the look on Snape's face when his caramel apple screamed as he bit into it, made it all worth while."  
  
Harry looked at the man who he knew was his godfather, although Sirius did not look quite the same. For one thing his long hair was combed and pulled back, and his face looked like years had suddenly been wiped away. The corner of his mouth was turned up slightly at the thought of the Halloween feast years ago, and suddenly Harry saw Sirius as his father had known him, confident and mischievous. Harry wondered for a minute what could have caused such a miraculous transformation, and then he saw the look that Sirius gave Selene. Everything was suddenly explained in that one look. Harry knew that somehow Sirius and Selene had worked things out. If any doubt remained, it was wiped away when Harry noticed that they both were wearing identical golden rings. Harry smiled wider than he could ever remember smiling.  
  
"Harry," Selene said, "We wanted to talk to you about something."  
  
Harry nodded and the three continued walking, Sirius on Harry's right and Selene on his left. Selene continued, "Sirius and I have decided that it is time to start over and try living our lives again...together."  
  
Harry grinned again.  
  
Sirius picked up where Selene left off, "We both know how much you want a family, and we would like very much to offer you a home, but..." Harry's grin vanished, he didn't think he liked where this was headed. "we have none to offer you," Sirius said.  
  
"Harry, if the ministry has not already found out about me they soon will." Selene said, "and Madam Pomfrey told me that there are already rumors circulating about Sirius being at Hogwarts. I'm afraid that at this point living with us would only put you in greater danger."  
  
"I don't care!" Harry said, "You don't understand what it is like living with the Dursley's! They hate me. They truly hate me. I want to go with you, I want to have a real family!"  
  
Selene stopped walking and knelt down in front of Harry. "We want that too Harry, more than anything. All we ask is that you are patient with us and allow us a little time to build you the home and family that you deserve."  
  
Sirius knelt down beside Selene, "What we offer you Harry, is the promise of a home. I know that we are not what one would consider a "normal" family, but we would like the opportunity to be your family."  
  
Harry didn't care much about being normal. He had never been considered so, and the Dursley's were a normal family. He was tired of "normal". Selene and Sirius were something better, they were *his* family. He hugged both of them at one time, and it was a long time before the three let go of each other. Finally Sirius said, "Harry, it looks as if Ron and Hermione have tracked you down. I'm sure Ron has lots of things he wants to tell you. Why don't you go talk to them, we'll be here when you get back.   
  
Harry ran to catch up with his two best friends, feeling for the first time that all the pieces of his life were finally coming together.  
  
  
~ Fini. ~  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
There it is ladies and gentlemen the end to "Family Tree." I hope that you have enjoyed the story. I sure enjoyed writing it. I also hope that I left enough little tidbits and foreshadowing to entice you to read the next part of Harry and Selene's story, which I will begin to post hopefully at the beginning of next month. Before you say good-bye to "Family Tree" please feel free to leave a little review.   
  
Speaking of reviews... A big THANK YOU to all of you who have reviewed my story. You really have made my first fanfiction experience a good one! Special thanks goes to Luna Rose/Phoenix Child, star queen, Nuts, and Kate Potter, for their constant support and reviews. (I wish I could list everybody but I think this chapter is long enough as it is.)  
  
Blatant shameless plug: If you are a big Sirius fan, you might want to check out my soliloquy, "Sirius' Response." It is Sirius with a bit o' Shakespeare thrown in. (I'm rather proud of it, so I bring it up whenever I possibly can.:) )  
  
**Update 11/24/02: For illustrations and music for this story, head on over to http://www.geocities.com/auryn2327** 


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